W.  P.  Bl^CK, 

AND  OTHERS. 


TALES  OF  THE  REBELTJON, 


Containing  Accounts  of  Hair- 
breadth Escapes,  Thrilling  Ad- 
ventures, Soouts  and  all  the 
Vicissitudes  to  which  a  Sol- 
dier's Life  is  Incident, 


1895. 

W.  P-    BLAOK,  PUBIffKM 
MULDROW  *l.  T 


/ 


 BY  

W,  P,  BLACK, 

AND  OTHERS. 

 (3F  

TALES  OF  THE  REBELTJON, 


Containing  Accounts  of  Hair 
breadth  Escapes,  Thrilli ng  Ad 
ventures,  Si^or.ts  and  all  th 
VicissUudes  to  which  a  Sol 
dior's  Life  is  Incident, 


DEDICATORY, 


To  the  brave,  generous  and  long  suf- 
fering Southern  Women,  including  Mrs. 
Joe  Houck,  Miss  Cyntha  Lester,  Mrs. 
Capt.  Wright,  Martha  Dyer,  Mrs.  Mar- 
garet Vinsant,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Brown, 
Mrs.  Eliza  Williams,  Mrs.  Nealey  Mat- 
luck,  Aunt  Polly  Wagoner,  Mrs.  S.  A. 
Pevehouse,  Mrs.  M.J.  Trower,  Mrs.  Eliza 
A.  Vinsant  and  especially  to  my  esteem- 
ed Mother,  who  now  lies  mouldering  in 
the  dust,  and  a  host  of  others  whose  de- 
votion to  the  ^ 'lost  cause''  is  without 
parallel  in  history,  and  who  generously 
and  fearlessly  administered  to  us  in  our 
trials,  this  volume  is  most  respectfully 
dedicated.  May  their  memory  ever  ba 
kept  -green  by  the  boys  who  wore  the 
grey — who  have  had  innumerable  occa- 
sions to  bless  them  for  their  kindness. 
The  glory  they  won  during  this  trying 
epoch,  will  be  more  lasting  than  a  statue 
of  bronze  or  marble.  All  hail  to  such 
noble  types  of  vvomanhood. 

Truly  etc, 

W.  P.  Black. 


Southern  Pamphlets 
Hare  Book  Collection 
^CChapel  mil 


INTRODUCTORY. 


This  is  not  a  biography.  Simply  rem- 
iniscent. I  have  not  the  least  intention 
of  inflicting  upon  my  readers  much  of 
my  childhood,  boyhood  and  early  man- 
hood. It  would  not  interest  deeply— 
that  life  of  a  child,  who  ran  laughing 
and  singing  through  the  grounds  of  an 
old  home,  avIio  conned  liis  lessons  at  his 
mother's  knee,  who  listened  to  the  mur- 
mur of  the  limpid  waters  of  the  near-by 
creek,  as  it*rolied  phicidly  along  in  the 
sliadow  of  lofty  hills  and  dreamed  his 
idle  dream  of  vine-chid  cottages  in  for- 
eign lands,  wlio  rode  all  -the  colts  and 
calves  he  could  catch— and  was  throAvn 
by  them — who  climbed  the  trees,  tore 
Ids  clothes,  ''went  swimmin'  "  and  did 
everything  else  for  which  boys  are 
noted.    Nor  would  the  life  of  the  youth 

o 

r* 


6 


or  young  iiian  prove  ruore  interesting. 
All  these  details  might  be  interesting, 
dear  reader,  if  ^^Bill^'  Black  was  any- 
body—*a  great  warrior,  statesman  or 
general—and  was  dead.  But  he  is  none 
of  these—simply  plain  Bill  BJack — and, 
fortunately,  still  lives;  therefore  these 
incidents  and  particulars  of  his  j^outh 
shall  be  omitted. 

The  flowers  bloomed  brighter  then, 
the  birds  sang  sweeter;  but  that  was  in 
MY  youth,  not  in  yours,  reader.  Mine 
for  me,  yours  for  you,  friend.  Let  u^ 
dream  of  the  dead  days,  sometimes,  as 
the  comedy  of  life  plays  before  us,  and 
the  voices  laugh~we  will  never  see 
those  days  again,  except  in  dreams. 

^       ^  * 

Fill  that  hiatus  with  the  hundreds  of 
volumes  that  will  be  written  of  the  great 
Rebellion.  In  this  volume,  I  intend  to 
weary  neither  myself  nor  the  reader 
with  an  historical  desertation.  I  shall 
magnanimously  allow  others  to  trace  the 
torrent  to  the  rivulet,  and  that  to  its 
source— how  the  results  of  1861  Avere  the 
logical  outcon^e  of  1825— let  them  show 
how  the  antagonism  of  race  and  opinion 


WAS  SKETCHES. 


7 


became  the  antagonism  of  the  bayonet. 
This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  that  sub- 
ject. 

The  question  has  been  tried,  the  issue 
is  dead  for  the  present  and  so  let  it  rest. 

Besides,  you  know  the  whole  story, 
dear  reader,  hovf  the  virtuous  North 
roared  at  the  wicked  South;  and  how 
John  Brovm,  with  the  pike,  carried  out 
what  Helper  wrote  Avith  the  pen. 

In  1861  the  beginning  of  the  end 
came.  The  ''Republicans"  triumphed, 
■  the  Gulf  Btates  declared  the  union  ^dis- 
solved, and  asserting  their  right  to 
lhape  their  own  destiny,  prepared  to 
support  their  action  with  the  sword. 

Thus,  at  the  age  of  23,  I  saw  the 
country  about  to  be  involved  in  the 
throes  of  a  civil  war.  But  now,  having 
returned  to  my  home  and  kin  aside  the 
tattered  and  torn  uniform,  I  shall  em- 
ploy my  leisure  time  in  recording  some 
recollections.,  and  describing,  while  my 
memory  retains  its  freshness,  a  fevv  inci- 
dents of  the  late  Rebellion.  This  will 
not  be  ^  task—rather  a  pleasure— for 
nothing  more  delights  an  old  soldier  re- 
turned from  the  wars,  than  to  fight  his 


8 


WAE  SKETCHES. 


battles  over  again  by  telling  his  children 
and  grand*children,  clustering  in  fancy 
around  his  knee,  what  wonders  he  has 
seen  and  the  dangers  through  which  he 
has  passed. 

I  think  those  grand-children  will  take 
an  interest  in  my  adventures.  They  be- 
long to  the  fresh,  new  generation,  and 
all  the  jealousies  J  hatreds  and  corroding 
passions  of  the  past  epoch  will  disap- 
pear. Simple  curiosity  will  replace  the 
old  hatred;  the  bitter  antagonism  of  the 
partisan  will  have  yielded  to  the  philo- 
sophic interest  of  the  student,  and  the 
events  and  personages  of  that  period 
will  be  impartially  discussed  by  peace- 
ful firesides. 

Therefore,  I  shall  draw  some  pen  pict- 
ures, as  near  as  I  can,  of  what  I  have 
seen.  Come,  perhaps  as  you  follow  me 
you  will  live  in  those  stormy  days  of  a 
convulsed  epoch;  breath  its  firey  atmos- 
phere and  see  its  miglity  forms  as  thcj^ 
defile  before  us  in  a  long  and  noble  line. 

To  review  those  days  and  instill  a  sa- 
cred memory  for  those  figures  wliich 
have  descended  into  the  tomb,  is  tlie 
purpose  of  these  lines. 


WAR.  SKETCHES. 


9 


•  Therefore  be  inagnanimous,  kind  read- 
er, and  regard  me  as  one  who  is  telling 
yon  his  adventures,  and  not  as  an  au- 
thor Avho  is  composing  a  feigned  liistory. 
I  am  only  a  ''poor  prisoner  on  parol'e," 
so  leave  me  this  last  consolation,  let  me 
talk. 

I  now  sit  in  my  quiet  home,  not  far 
;-away  from  the  waters  of  the  Arkansas 
river;  the  winds  sigh  and  the  sunshine 
laughs  that  peace  has  come. 

Do  not  hurried! V  r^f^an  the  following 
pages,  neither  wo ...  .:_,:ive  you  assidu- 
ously con  them,  simply  read  what  I 
have  written  ahd  let  the  resiil"  \k 
for  themselves. 

Hoping  that  the  corroding  passions 
which  involved  me  in  my  time,  may 
never  be  known  to  3"ou,  that  you  may 
never  know  more  of  war  tlian  what  you 
may  read,  I  am 

Yours  truly, 

W.'  P.  Black. 


"Bill"  Blagk.— 1864. 


WAR  SKETCHES, 


CHAPTER  I, 

Kind  reader,  I  shall  bore  you  vA"h 
only  enough  of  the  ^'geneological  tr  c 
through  which  I  came,  to  give  my  ''pe- 
cmiar  nationality. ' ' 

My  great-grandfather,  Wni. Black,  wa.i 
a  Scotchman.  He  married  an  Irish  lady 
and  afterward  came  to  America.  At  tlie 
breaking  out  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion he  enUsted  and  shared  the  hard- 
ships and  privations  of  the  ''Eap:ged 
Regiment,"  commanded  by  the  inde- 
fatigable General  Marion,  ''The  Swam]) 
Fox  of  the  Pedee."  My  grand -father 
was  born  in  Carolina,  on  the  4th  day  of 
July,   1776.      He  wa^  a  ci^ptain 'under 


12 


Ueii;  Jackson  during  the  Greek  war  of 
1812^  and  was  at  the  battle  of  Tohopeka 
or  Horse  Shoe  Bend,  when  the  spirit  of 
the  Creek  nation  was  broken. 

My  father  was  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
first  seeing  the  light  on  a  balmy  day  in 
April,  1807.  At  the  age  of  23  he  was 
married  to  my  mother,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Elizabeth  Baird.  She  was  of 
French  descent.  Her  people  had  incur- 
red the  enmity  of  the  Canadian  govern-  ' 
ment  and  had  been  banished  as  enemies 
to  the  crown.  Her  father  located  in  In- 
diana, near  Princeton,  where  my  mother 
was  born  and  raised.  Shortly  after  fath- 
er and  mother  were  married  they  moved 
to  the,  then,  territor}^  of  Arkansas,  and 
opened  up  a  farm  in  the  northwestern 
part  of  the  country,  on  Lees  Creek,  since 
embraced  in  Crawford  county.  Here 
they  lived  to  raise  nine  children,  six 
boys  and  three  girls,  all  of  whom  were 
strong  and  robust  except  the  fourth,  the 
writer  of  these  memoirs,  who  was  some- 
what Aveak  and  puny.  The  co'^  '  ni  of  I 
my  health  was  such  that  I  concei  : 
the  idea  that  I  was  an  imp  jsiti^^yi  on  my  : 
friends  and  famil}^;  therefore,  at  tlio  age  ! 


\V.\  T{    S!v MIES. 


While  (>n  tiie  f]Ti]UUM'  1   Wa  ^  sonlrl :  liK'S 

with  tho  ('v)\vl)(iys  nmi  siUiU'times  wiiii 
Hu'  rani^HM's:  iiwd  to  tin*  wild,  iVee  cluir- 
acUvr  of  liiV  (^x:isteuc(\  1  owe  IIk^  vastly 
improved  eoiulilioii  of  my  lioaltli. 

While  leading  this*  nomadic  life,  we 
not  infrequently  eame  in  contact  witli 
roving  bands  of  wild  liidians  tluit  infest- 
<mI  that  part  of  the  Cvranti'y.      TiK'se  en- 
iragements    were    usually  s})i ri ted  and 
diaracterized   with   that  savagery  and 
bk)odthirstiness  peculiar  to  the  Indian's 
mode  of  warfare.      I  have  fre(juently 
»^seen  the  reeking  scalp  torn  from  the 
'beads  of  fallen  braves,  and,  mori^  tha.n 
bnce,  my  own  hair  lias  raisc^l  on  end 
j  ^vhen  in  too  close  proximity  to  1h<'  rcd- 
vnan's  scalpii^g-knifi^ 

( )n  one  (H/casi(Hi  a  party  of  l)oys.  eight 
in  lurmher,  liad  waiMh'red  some  five  or 
six  mih\s  from  my  uncle's  ranch,  in 
search  of  jack-rabbits  and  antelope. 
Su(blenly  om^  of  the  1)oys  poinU^d  to  a 
painted  l*rav(^  riding  paralel  with  us,  l)ut 
un  the  opi)osite  side  of  a  ridge.  How 
We  had  longed  for  tliis  momeiilj  <)ui* 
wildest  anticii)a.tions  sought  no  high(M- 
go;d   than   the  ])r<'srnt  moment  se(MHe<! 


14 


WAR  sKiCl'< 


iibout  to  present.  Now  was  the  oppor- 
tunity presented  to  us  for  displaying 
our  bravery  and  bagging  a  red-skin.  So 
we  charged  with  a  yell  and  mighty  flour- 
ish, full  into  the  apparently  helpless  In- 
dian. He  seemed  wholly  taken  by  sur- 
prise at  first  but  ^^uddeiily  dashed  off  to 
the  left,  to  take  refuge  in  the  chaparel 
on  an  adjacent  creek.  We  pursued  with 
an  ardor  and  eiitliusicism  born  only  of 
our  youth  and  inexperience.  We  had 
reached  the  edge  of  the  tangled  under- 
growth, in  our  \\ild  pursuit,  when  sud- 
denlj^  it  seemed  that  a  dozen  Indians 
rose  from  und:^'  every  bush.  We  had, 
v/itli  our  eyes  open,  rode  into  a  complete 
ambuscade,  and  the  fleeing  Indian  Avas 
only  a  decoy  .  But  the  bays  were  of  the 
''blue  steel"  variety,  and  stood  their 
ground  like  veterans  against  such  over- 
whelming"^ odds.  Seeing  that  inevitable 
death  w^as  staring  us  in  the  face  if  we 
remained,  i  began  to  call  to  them  to  get 
out,  jind,  heeding  the  admonition,  vie 
made  a  desperate  and  determined  dasli 
for  life  and  liberty. 

Two  Ijrave  felloAVs  were  left  dead  on 
the  scene,  and  all  the  others,  except  my- 


15 


self,  more  or  less  severely  wounded;  two 
of  v/hoiii  died  sliortly  after  the  fight, 

Next  day  I  piloted  a  company  of  ran- 
gers to  the  spot  and  found  the  two  com- 
rades of  the  previous  day's  encounter, 
cold  and  stiff,  with  tile  scalp-lock  rudely 
torn  from  their  heads. 

The  peri(^dic  visits  of  these  Indians 
were  always  an  occasion  of  fear  and  per- 
il, and  their  insinuating  treachery  was 
proverbiaL  I  shall  never  forget  their 
blood-curdling  yells  in  battle,  and  their 
fiendish  delight  when  we  were  forced  to 
run. 

But  I  must  leave  this  field  of  narra- 
tion for  the  harrowing  realities  of  a  frat- 
ricidal conflict,  the  ominous  sounds  of 
which  had  been  floating  on  the  air  for 
some  time,  and  the  storm  was  about  to 
burst  upon  our  heads  with  relentless 
fury. 


tlH  AFTER  11. 

The  season  of  quiet  and  peace  had 
passed,  the  dull  roar  at  Fort  Sumpter 
proclaimed  the  story  of  internal  strife, 
and  I,  like  many  others,  burned  with  a 
desire  to  lend  my  assistance  to  Avhat  I 
believed  to  be  the  righteous  cause  of  the 
South,  Consequently,  in  the  spring  of 
1861,  I  joined  a  company  of  select  young 
men^,  to  serve  in  an  independent  capac- 
ity as  Confederate  caA^alrv,  under  the 
lea(U^rshi])  of  tlie  gallant  Ca|)t.  John 
Posey.  ^ 

1  have  fopgotten  the  date  on  whicli  we 
left  liome;  however,  we  reached  Camp 
Walker,  in  the  northern  part  of  Arkan- 
sas, without  any  mishap  or  incident  of 
inq)ortance  transpiring  on  the  way. 

f^i)ou  after  our  arrival  at  Camj)  Walker 
news  reached  us  tliat  the  Federal  Cener- 
al  Lyons,  with  a  large  number  of  troo])s. 
was  marching  toward  us.      We  innnedi- 
,  atelv  received  orders  from  (  ien.  Ben  iVIc- 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


17 


Hough,  to  advance  and  meet  the  en- 
.y.  We  took  up  the  line  of  march  at 
3e  and  after  several  day's  hard  travel- 
;  over  rough  roads,  reached  Oak  Hill, 
Wilson's  Creek,  as  it  is  called  by  most 
iters;  near  Springfield,  Missouri.  Here 
found  the  Confederates  camped.  In 
s  camp  I  got  my  first  sight  of  that 
untless,  heroic  Texan,  General  Ben 
jCuUough . 

On  the  following  morning  after  our 
ival.  Gen.  Lyons  surprised  us  in  our 
nap.  The  result  of  this  battle — ^one  of 
3  first  of  the  great  battles  of  the  war- 
too  well  known  to  need  or  admit  of 
y  lengthy  explanation,  and  besides,  I 
L  not  writing  a  history  of  tlie  war.  Let 
)re  capable  pens  assume  that  task, 
[n  this  engagement  my  company  lost 
[y  six  men  killed  and  fifteen  wounded. 
3  formed  the  advance  in  pursuit  of 
n,  Seigel,  who  took  command  of  the 
deral  troops  at  the  death  of  General 
ons. 

We  were  pressing  them  rather  close 
i  had  several  hard  brushes,  in  one  of 
ich,  Capt.  Posey  had  three  fingers 
)t  from  his  right  hand.   Our  company 


18 


^uffi^^eA  no  other  losa,  either  iii  killed  ot 
Wounded. 

After  this  fight  we  fell  back  to  Arkan- 
sas, and  did  picket  and  scout  duty  for 
the  main  army  until  sometime  in  the 
fall:  when  we  disbanded,  some  of  the 
the  boys  joining  the  regular  army,  while 
others,  myself  among  the  number^  went 
home. 

I  arrived  safely  at  my  father's  house 
on  Lees  Creek,  where  I  found  my  broth- 
er Hemy  preparing  to  move  to  Texas, 
and  I  at  once  decided  to  go  with  him. 

We  started  about  the  middle  of  Octo- 
ber, 1861,  and  reached  Uncle  William 
Black's,  in  Burnett  county,  near  where 
the  town  of  Strickland  now  stands, 
about  the  middle  of  November.  We 
rented  a  farm  of  uncle,  about  eight  miles 
west  of  Georgetown.  Here  we  spent  the 
winter  as  pleasantly  and  quietly  as 
though  war  and  war's  alarm  were  abso- 
lutely unheard  of  things. 

With  the  Spring,  hoAvever,  came  the 
reports  of  the  violent  struggle  going  on 
between  the  North  and  the  South.  The 
tocsin  had  sounded  in  earnest  and  was 
reverberating  along  the  mountains  and 


WAE  SKETCHES. 


19 


hills  of  the  far  off  Norths  and  along  the 
valleys  and  o'er  the  plains  of  the  once 
peaceful  South,  Its  voice  was  calling  to 
Southern  sons  and  appealing  to  Southern 
chivalry,  to  speed  to  the  defense  of  their 
much-loved  country.  Feeling  it  our  du- 
ty to  respond,  we  were-again  sworn  into 
service;  this  time  in  Cupt.  Dalyrimple's 
company,  which  was  composed  of  112 
brave  and  sturdy  young  men. 

Williamson  county  furnished  our  com- 
pany with  four  four-mule  teams  and  two 
two-horse  teams  and  six  wagons  well 
loaded  with  sugar,  ~  flour,  provisions, 
tents  and  cooking  utensils.  Each  man 
•  in  the  company  was  also  given  an  ^'Ark- 
ansas Toothpick'' — a  short  sabre,  made 
of  the  finest  steel . 

We  chose  our  officers  as  follows:  Daly- 
rimple,  Captain;  A.  J.  Berry,  first;  D,M. 
Sloan,  second;  Jas.  Williams,  third  lieu- 
tenants and  Henry  Hurschfield,  orderly 
sargeant. 

We  were  soon  on  the  move,  and  with 
our  chivalry  on  fire  and  our  patriotism 
thoroughly  aroused,  headed  for  military 
headquarters  at  Dallas,  Texas.  We 
reached  this  point  without  anything  of 


20 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


interest  tran spiring ^  expecting  to  join 
CoL  Darneirs  regiment^  but  to  our  sur- 
prise, found  eleven  companies  already 
assembled,  one  more  than  Avas  allowed 
by  military  tactics. 

At  this  juncture  we  were  ordered  to 
Witts  Mill,  on  the  Trinity  river,  some 
twelve  miles  from  Dallas.  We  had  been 
in  camp  at  this  point  about  a  week  when 
District  Judge  Ed  Vontress,  the  man 
who  had  sworn  us  into  the  Confederate 
service,  came  into  camp  and  joined  our 
company  as  a  private.  '  The  next  day 
after  his  enlistment,  Capt.  Dalyrimple 
called  his  men  into  line,  made  them  a 
speech  and  resigned  his  office  in  favor  of 
Judge  Vontress,  Avho  was  at  once  elected 
without  a  dissenting  vote.  Soon  after 
this,  ^orders  were  received  to  move  to 
Piano,  Texas,  ^ome  twenty  miles  distant 
w^here^we  met  Alajor  Scott,  who  piloted 
us  out  a  few  miles  on  Spring  Creek,  to  a 
camp  of  instruction.  Here  we  found 
Capt.  Lemons  and  his  company,  from 
Wise  county,  Texas. 

During  the  two  weeks  of  our  stay  here 
the  drear  monotony  of  camp  life  was 
broken  by  the  pranks  of  the  practical 


WAR  SKETCHES, 


21 


joker;  the  Wierd,  nielancholly  or  wild  hi- 
iariour  chants  of  the  singer,  the  terpsi- 
chorean  displays  of  the  dancer  and  nu- 
merous other  forms  of  diversion. 

An  incident  occurred  while  here,  the 
story  of  which  will  be  related  in  the 
next  chapter;  that  came  near  ending  in 
a  pitched  battle  between  the  companies 
of  Captains  Vontress  and  Lemons. 


22 


WAR  SKETCHES, 


CHAPTER  IIL 

The  Wise  county  boys  had  in  their 
company  a  man  who  claimed  to  be  a 
very  fine  dancer.  His  comrades  took 
every  occasion  to  eulogise  his  terpsicho- 
rean  ability,  greatly  to  the  disgust  of  the 
Williamson  county  contingency,  who 
also  boasted  a  fine  dancer.  Finally  the 
rivalry  became  so  demonstrative  that  a 
bet  was  made  as  to  which  company  held 
the  champion  artist.  Two  stakes  were 
driven  in  the  ground  about  two 
feet  apart,  and  allowed  to  protrude  ten 
or  twelve  inches  above  terra  firma.  On 
these  two  stakes  was  nailed  a  six  inch 
board  of  uncertain  length,  on  which  the 
dancers  were  to  give  evidence  of  their 
ability. 

Ulistus  A.  D.  Wethersby,  of  Vontress' 
command  was  first  called.  He  mounted 
this  peculiar  pedestal  and  gave  some 
wonderful  exhibitions  of  his  art.  The 
Lemons  company  man  was  next  called. 


WAK  SKETCHES. 


23 


iSlowly  he  mounted  theblock^  but  after 
iX  few  rather  awkward  steps  he  hung  his 
toe  over  the  edge  of  the  board  and  fell, 
nearly  breaking  his  neck,  Cries  of 
"foul,  foul;  that's  not  fair/'  and  sundry 
others  of  like  import  were  heard  on  all 
sides,  from  his  friends.  Disputations  at 
once  arose,  hard  words  passsd  and  some 
were  caressed  in  no  gentle  manner  by  the 
closed  fists  of  others,  and,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  interference  of  cool  heads, 
blood  would  doubtless  have  been  spilled. 
However,  a  truce  was  patched  up  and 
the  boys  reminded  that  they  were  bear- 
ing arms  to  destroy  Yankees  and  not 
each  other. 

Soon  afterwards  Maj. Scott  ordered  his 
two  companies  to  move,  and  after  a  few 
days  marching  we  reached  Paris,  Texas, 
where  we  had  to  stop  on  account  of  sick- 
ness in  the  command.  We  remained  in 
€amp  here  some  four  weeks,  and  when 
the  men  were  able  to  move  the  order  was 
given  to  march;  our  destination  being  a 
thing  unknown  to  most  of  us.  When 
this  order  was  given,  Capt.  Lemons  and 
his  men  seemed  to  have  gotten  all  the 
war  experience  they  wanted,  and  decid- 


24 


WAB  SKETCHES. 


ed  that  they  would  go  home.  When  in- 
formed of  this  decision,  Maj.  Scott  order- 
ed Vontress^  men  to  fall  into  line  in 
double  quick,  and  rushed  us  in  between 
Lemon ^s  company  and  their  wagons. 
Nothing  daunted  by  this,  however, 
Gapt,  Lemons  ordered  his  men  to  mount 
their  horses  and  fall  into  line,  which  was 
quickly  done.  The  command:  ^ 'right 
wheel,  forward  march,"  then  rang  out 
from  Lemons'  lips,  and  he  and  his  men 
took  their  way  toward  home  and  safety, 
leaving  us  in  possession  of  their  wagons, 
tents  and  camp  outfit  in  general. 

Vontress'  company,  with  the  addi- 
tional equipages  surrendered  by  the  dis- 
satisfied company,  was  soon  in  motion 
in  the  direction  of  ''the  seat  of  war.'' 

The  tedium  and  monotony  of  the 
march  were  often  relieved  by  those  irre- 
pressably  ludicrous  incidents  that  some- 
times occur  when  least  expected,  and  are 
worth  all  the  more  for  this  consideration. 
Capt.  Vontress  had  a  peculiar  mania  for 
saluting  those  who  might  happen  to  wish 
us  God  speed,  especially  if  the  salutation 
came  from  one  of  the  softer  sex.  Very 
often  a  lady  would  appear  in  the  door- 


\VA  K   SKlCiH  'll  K.s. 


way  and  with  tiiat  uaiMU-s:-  [)tn'ii]iar  to 
-hei*  sex,  wave  her  dainty  kerchief  at  the 
boys  in  grey,  (hi  seeing  such  demon- 
strations of  hiyalty  and  good  will,  Oapt. 
Vontress  woukl  order  tliree  eheers  to  be 
given.  One  day  the  Captain  saw  some- 
thing white  waving  from  a  doorway, 
^onie  (li stance  from  tlie  road,  and  he  at 
once  ordered  the  men  to  face  into  line 
and  give  three  cheers.  This  was  done 
with  unusual  alacrity,  but  when  the  or- 
der came  to  move  on  ,  the  men  seemed 
glued  to  theis  places,  while  they  contin- 
ued to  give  vent  to  the  Texas  yell  with 
*  aggravating  persistency,  Just  about 
this  time  ('apt.  Vontress  discovered  that 
the  object  of  his  detterential  salutation 
was  a  fi^nuik^  of  exceeding  ebony  line, 
and  tliat  the  wind  was  waving  her  vvdiite 
apron.  It  is  needh-ss  to  add  that  such 
uiHiecessary  sahitations  were  not  indulg- 
ed in  again. 

We  soon  reached  Boston  Texas,  where 
a  yoirng  hidy  a|>j)eared  on  the  balcony  of 
a  hotel,  in  front  of  which  w^e  had  formed 
in  line.  She  made  a  soul-stirring,  patri- 
otic speech,  after  which  she  presented 
tl\e  command    with  a  beautiful  silken 


26 


WAK  SKETCHES. 


flag,  dedicated  to  the  Confederate  cause* 
With  profuse  thanks  for  the  sacred  em- 
blem, we  again  took  up  the  line  of  march 
passing  through  Washington,  Arkadel- 
phia,  Hot  Springs  and  Benton;  arriving 
at  Little  Rock,  the  headquarters  of  Gen. 
T.  C.  Hindman,  who  ordered  us  to  cross 
the  Arkansas  river,  which  feat  was  ac- 
complished on  a  pontoon  bridge.  We 
went  into  camp  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
river,  feeling  c^uite  grand  with  113  men, 
13  wagons  and  various  other  equipages. 

Up  to  this  time  it  had  been  easy  sail- 
ing with  us;  but  alas!  this  easy  time  was 
not  to  last  long.  We  had  been  here  but 
a  few  days  when  Gen.  Hindman  sent 
orders  over  for  two  of  our  wagons  and 
teams,  which  wer6  given  up  reluctantly; 
and  a  short  time  afterward  he  took  two 
more,  at  the  same  time  piling  our  tents 
and  camp  outfit  out  on  the  ground.  The 
men  would  walk  around  the  plunder  ly- 
ing there  on  the  grass  and  in  the  mud 
and  roundly  curse  Gen.  Hindman  for 
robbing  us.  The  company  felt  like  it 
was  broken  up,  with  only  nine  wagons. 

We  were  quite  thankful  when  we  re- 
ceived orders  to  go  to  White  River,  near 


War  sketches. 


27 


DuVaPs  Bluff,  as  we  entertained  the 
hope  that  perhaps  it  y/ould  put  a  stop  td 
Gen.  Hindman  preying  on  us.  In  this, 
however,  we  were  sorely  disappointed. 
We  camped  the  first  night  at  Grand 
Prairie,  and  here  Hindman  took  five 
more  of  our  wagons  and  teams,  leaving 
us  only  four.  At  this  outrageous  treat- 
ment the  boys  strenuously  objected,  and 
strong  threats  were  made  of  leaving  the 
command;  in  fact  the  officers  found  it  no 
easy  task  to  keep  the  whole  company 
from  going  home. 

When  the  company  moved  on  next 
morning,  I  was  sent  to  the  hospital,  very 
much  against  my  will.  I  had  remained 
at  this  so-called  sanitarium  for  a  short 
time  only,  when  some  one  came  to  take 
my  horse.  I  felt  that  I  could  not  possi- 
bly part  from  my  noble  horse,  so  I  said  to 
the  man  who  came  for  him: 

^^Say,  I  must  water  him  first." 

^'No,"  he  replied,  '^Iwill  see  that  he 
is  watered.'' 

•  ^  ^  I  will  water  him  myself, ' '  I  answered 
^■He  is  a  mustang  and  will  throw  you.'' 
By  dint  of  much  pursuasion  -and  some 
^^bluff,"  I  prevailed  on  him  to  let  me 


28 


vi'atiM;*  HIV  ^>wti  liorse.  Tke  w.ater  w^-s  in 
ii  ba;\  ou  a-bout  a  quarter  of  mile  off, 
but  when  I  arri  ved  at  the  place  it  looked 
like  it  was  boggy >^  whereupon  I  conclud- 
ed to  hunt  a  better  place,  so.  that  I  could 
let  niy  horse  drink  without  getting  him 
into  the  bog. 

I  think  J  must  have  traveled  two 
miles  without  hnding  a  place  to  suitme> 
By  this  time  I  had  remembered  that  I 
had  not  bid  any  of  my  comrades  good- 
bye^ so  I  decided  to  hunt  them  up  and 
tell  them  of  the  sights  I  saw  in  that 
wonderful  Confederate  hospital — facts 
that  will  not  do  to  relate  here. 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


29 


CHAPTER  IV. 

After  traveling  all  day  across  Grand 
Prairie,  I  called  at  the  house  of  a  farmer, 
at  the  east  edge  of  the  prairie,  where  I 
remained  over  night,  prtrsuing  my  jour- 
ny  on  the  following  morning.  About 
ten  o'clock  I  struck  the  main  road,  which 
I  followed,  and  just  as  the  sun  was  sink- 
ing in  the  west,  I  reached  my  company 
as  they  were  pitching  camps.  All  seem- 
ed surprised  at  my  sudden  appearance 
in  their  midst,  and  I  was  plied  with  in- 
numerable questions  as  to  why  I  had  so 
soon  left  the  hospital.  I  then  gave  them 
my  experience  in  detail,  and  my  com- 
rades expressed  wonder  that  I  remained 
as  long  as  I  did. 

The  captain  soon  came  in  and  said  I 
had  to  go  back  to  the  hospital,  that  he 
was  going  to  take  my  horse  and  send  me 
back  in  an  ambulance.  This  statement 
served  only  to  frighten  me  very  badly, 
and  I  sent  my  brother  to  tell  the  captian 


30 


WAR  BKETGKl^. 


that  1  Would  return  by  myself  if  he 
would  let  me  ride  my  horse,  a  request  he 
graciously  granted. 

Early  next  morning  I  took  the  road 
leading  in  the  direction  of  the  hospital 
and  traveled  about  four  or  five  miles. 
I  thought  I  had  gone  far  enough  in  this 
direction,  so  I  left  the  main  road  and 
traveled  in  a  northerly  course,  through 
the  dense  forest,  without  a  road  or 
guide.  On  and  on  I  went  through  this 
dense  wilderness,  without  any  definite 
point  in  view,  my  only  object  being  to 
escape  the  horrors  of  the  hospital  I  had 
so  lately  left. 

I  continued  in  this  direction  until  late 
in  the  evening,  when  I  came  to  a  good- 
looking  farm,  with  everything  about  it 
in  a  prosperous  condition.  I  called  at 
tli^  house  and  asked  if  I  might  stay  all 
night,  which  request  was  readily  grant- 
ed. Next  morning  I  made  a  statement 
of  the  facts  in  my  case  to  the  old  gentle- 
man, (his  name  was  Harrison)  who 
agreed  to  keep  me  until  I  Avas  able  for 
duty.* 

I  ;-ipent  a  month  here  as  pleasantly  as 

*See    Whe-i  I  Went  Soldiering", 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


any  I  ever  spent  in  my  life;  my  health 
vastly  improved,  and  I  was  beginning  to 
regret  the  near  approach  of  the  time 
when  I  should  be  compelled  to  leave  this 
hospitable  home.  One  day  a  reconnoit- 
ering  scout  of  150  men,  stopped  at  the 
house  to  get  dinner  and  feed  their 
horses,  and  on  inquiry  I  learned  they 
were  on  their  return  to  the  army  at  the 
place  where  my  company  was  camped. 
So  I  bade  a  lingering  farewell  to  Mr. 
Harrison  and  his  charming  family,  and 
returned  to  camp  with  the  soldiers.  We 
traveled  about  fifteen  miles  and  camped 
for  the  night,  and  next  day.  about  the 
middle  of  the  afternoon,  we  reached  the 
command. 

On  looking  around  I  found  that  Gen. 
Hindman  had  taken  all  of  our  wagons 
but  one,  and  our  camp  equipments  were 
lying  scattered  about  over  camp,  and 
most  of  it  looked  like  the  ragged  edge  of 
hard  times.  Our  company  had  been 
thrown  in  with  that  of  Captain  Morgan, 
forming  a  squadron,  and  Major  Dick 
Morgan  placed  in  command. 

Early  next  morning  after  arriving  in 
€amp,  the  order  came  to  saddle  up  -iil 


fall  into  lilie.  Capt.  Vontres$  then  made 
a  stirring  speech,  telling  us  that  Ave 
were  going  to  Clarendon^  on  White  riv- 
er, to  f5.ght  the  gun-boats.  After  he  got 
'through  he  came  to  me  and  asked  me 
when  T  had  left  the  hospital.  I  told  him 
I  had  not  been  to  the  hospital  since  I 
left  camps,  some  time  before;  but  had 
spent  the  time  much  more  pleasantty  at 
the  home  of  a  farmer.  He  then  asked  me 
if  1  wanted  to  go  into  the  fight,  and  I 
told  him  it  was  my  desire. 

The  command:  ^ 'Right  wheel,  forward 
march/'  rang  out  on  the  still  morning 
air  from  the  lips  of  Maj.  Morgan,  and 
the  column  was  soon  in  motion  for  the 
appointed  spot  on  the  White  river.  We 
had  traveled  some  eight  or  ten  miles 
from  the  old  camp  when  we  formed  a 
junction  with  Gen.  Joe  Shelby's  Missou- 
ri troops.  This  additional  force  greatly 
encouraged  our  boys,  and- we  felt  almost 
like  we  could  Avhip  Gen.  Grant's  whole 
army. 

The  command  camped  that  night 
some  four  miles  out  from  Clarendon, 
which  town  is  situated  on  the  White  riv- 
er.    All  through  the  night,  the  coarse 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


33 


dismal  whistle  of  the  gun-boats  could  be 
heard  up  and  down  the  river.  We, 
however,  mamtained  strict  quiet,  not 
wishing  to  alarmthe  enemy  or  aprise 
them  of  our  proximity,  as  we  decided  to 
fall  on  them  unawares. 

For  the  first  time  1  realized  that  I  was 
about  to  meet  the  enemy,  and  it  made 
me  think  of  friends  and  loved  ones  at 
home  and  that  perhaps  I  would  never 
meet  them  again  on  this  earth. 

The  order  to  move  forward  came  early 
on  the  following  morning,  and  we  cau- 
tiously advanced  to  within  half  a  mile 
of  the  river,  where  Ave  halted  and  dis- 
mounted, leaving  our  horses  in  the  rear 
under  strong  guard.  We  then  went  qui- 
etly forward  until  we  reached  the  river 
bank;  and  here,  to  my  surprise,  was  our 
six  pieces  of  artillery.  There  was  an  old 
slough  that  ran  near  the  river,  leaving  a 
narrow  ridge,  or  back-bone,  between  that 
and  the  river.  It  was  behind  this  bank 
that  the  artillery  was  placed,  and  a  fur- 
nace erected  to  heat  the  cannon  balls  to 
throw  into  the  passing  vessels.  The 
river  being  narrow  and  the  banks  high, 
iNve  had  ample  protection  from  the  shot 


WAB  SKETCHES. 


and  sliell  the  boats  from  the  fact  that 
the  range  was  too  short. 

The  cannon  balls  were  soon  hot  and 
all  was  m  readiness  for  the  expected  at- 
tack. We  did  not  have  to  wait  long 
until  we  heard  a  boat  coming  from  a 
short  distance  below.  The  cannon  were 
run  in  position  by  hand  and  everything 
made  ready.  Presently  the  boat  came 
slowly  along,  the  port  holes  open,  the 
men  laughing  and  talking,  little  dream- 
mg  that  danger  was  near,  and  that  soon 
a  oalliiip;  fire  would  rake  their  vessel. 

Suddenly  our  six  guns  turned  loose 
their  char2:es  of  solid  shot  with  a  crash 
that  seemed  to  shake  the  earth.  Then 
came  the  whistle  of  distress,  vsdiich  was 
answered  both  up  and  down  the  river, 
but  the  answer  sounded  a  great  distance 
away. 

Some  of  the  hot  shot  had  penetrated 
the  port-holes  and  disabled  the  machin- 
ery, the  light  combustibles  inside  Avere 
set  on  fire  and  a  veritable  conflagration  I 
was  imminent.  The  soldiers  on  board 
being  un^M  stop  the  fire  or  man  the 
disabled  .    crambled  hurriedly  on 

deck  and  iioi-^ced  the  white  flag.  Gen. 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


35 


Shelby  ordered  them  to  bring  the  boat 
ashore,  but  he  was  mformed  by  the  cap- 
tarn  that  her  disabled  condition  prevent- 
ed su€h  a  move,  but  if  the  men  would  go 
below  he  would  throw  out  the  cable  so 
that  they  could  tie  her  to  a  tree. 

About  100  of  our  boys  ran  down  to 
the  bend,  the  boat  was  secured  and  the 
blue-coats  rushed  out  to  escape  from  the 
fire.  During  this  time  the  fire  had 
spread,  and  the  vessel  was  now  VvTapped 
in  a  sheet  of  flame.  We  immediately 
sought  the  cover  of  the  bank,  and  had 
hardly  secreted  ourselves  Y>^hen  the  mag- 
azine of  the  burning  boat  exploded  with 
a  crash  like  the  thunders  of  ages  de- 
scending in  one  bolt.  When  the  maga- 
zine blew  up  such  screeching  as  came 
from  the  rescueing  boats,  I  never  heard 
before;  and  we  could  tell  from  the  sound 
they  were  getting  closer. 

We  were  immediately  ordered  to  our 
horses,  and,  after  reaching  them,  at  once 
fell  into  line.  Looking  up  the  river  we 
could  see  the  blue-coats  landing  from 
the  transports  by  the  thousands.  Gen. 
Shelby  then  rode  along  the  line  and  told 
the  men  that  what  had  happened  was 


36 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


but  an  introduction  to  what  was  coming. 
We  then  advanced  about  three  hundred 
yards,  while  the  artillery  took  a  position 
on  an  eminence  in  our  rear.  In  v front 
of  us  the  ground  was  broken  and  uneven 
affording  an  admirable  stand  for  defense. 
Here  we  waited  for  the  approaching  en- 
emy. Presently  they  came  in  sight,  and 
Gen.  Shelby  rode  along  the  line  to  en- 
courage the  men,  telling  them  to  keep 
cool,  reserve  their  fire,  obey  orders;  and 
a  signal  victory  would  be  ours. 

The  Federals  continued  to  advance  in 
a  solid  phalanx,  notwithstanding  our 
artillery  had  kept  up  a  hot,  incessant 
fire  on  them  all  the  time.  But  when 
they  reached  the  broken  ground  immedi- 
ately in  our  front,  they  became  confused 
in  crossing  it.  At  this  juncture  we  were 
ordered  to  charge.  With  a  rush  like  an 
irresistable  cyclone  we  swept  through 
their  broken  and  disordered  lines,  form- 
ed and  charging  back  to  our  old  position 
when  our  artillery  renewed  its  galling, 
destructive  fire.  The  fight  raged  with 
all  that  fury  which  characterizes  deter- 
mination on  one  side  and  bull-dog  vim 
on  the  other.  J 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


37 


The  victory  wonld  undoubtedly  have 
been  ours  had  not  the  enemy  been  heav- 
ily reinforced.  These  fresh  troops  arriv- 
ing just  as  they  did,  forced  us  to  retire 
and  leave  them  in  possession  of  the  field. 

Our  loss  in  this  engagement  was  ex- 
tremely light.  They  took  no  prisoners, 
and  our  wounded  were  carried  from  the 
field. 

We  now  fell  back  to  our  camps;  and, 
to  our  surprise,  Gen.  Hindman  had 
taken  our  last  wagon. 

I  was  utterly  prostrated  by  the  excite- 
ment of  the  engagement,  and  was  not 
able  to  take  care  of  my  horse,  much  less 
do  camp,  or  any  other  duty.  As  soon 
as  I  had  got  somewhat  better,  Capt. 
Von  tress  came  to  me  and  told  me  that  I 
was  not  able  to  do  duty  as  a  soldier, 
and  that  it  was  folly  for  me  to  attempt 
such  a  thing;  that  he  was  going  to  have 
me  discharged  from  the  service  and  sent 
home,  where  I  could  be  taken  care  of. 
An  ambulance  then  drove  up  and  the 
captain  told  me  to  get  in.  I  did  so,  and 
was  driven  to  brigade  headquarters, 
where  the  doctors,  after  a  thorough  and 
rigid  examination,  gave  me  a  certificate 


38 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


of  discharge.  I  went  back  to  camp, 
bundled  \ip  my  traps,  bade  farewell  to 
my  brother  and  comrades  in  arms,  ex- 
pecting to  meet  the  most  of  them  no 
more  on  earth. 

I  then  set  out  for  Little  Rock,  which 
place  I  reached  on  the  third  morning. 


WAB  SKETCHES, 


39 


CHAPTER  V. 

Heachuntg  Little  Rock  I  hunted  up 
Gen.  Hindman's  headquarters  and  pre- 
sented my  discharge  to  him  for  his  sig- 
nature. After  he  had  signed  it  I  told 
him  that  I  wanted  to  go  up  to  Van  Bur- 
en.  He  told  me  that  he  had  given 
orders  to  let  nobody  go  north  or  up  the 
river,  and  he  further  informed  me  that 
it  was  very  dangerous  for  squads  of  men 
to  pass  up  the  river,  and  one  or  two 
men  would  meet  certain  death,  and  he 
told  me  I  must  not  attempt  it. 

I  then  went  to  the  provost-martial  and 
asked  him  for  a  pass  hack  to  my  com- 
•  mand,  but  did  not  tell  him  that  I  had  a 
discharge.  After  quizzing  me  about 
what  command  I  belonged  to,  he  gave 
me  a  pass. 

I  then  re-crossed  the  Arkansas  river 
on  the  pontoon  bridge,  and  after  getting 
on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  I  took  the 
road    leading  up  the   river  instead  of 


40 


WAE  SKETCHES. 


going  in  llie  direction  of  my  command/ 
I  had  not  gone  far  until  I  came  in  con- 
tact with  our  picket)  who  told  me  they 
had'strict  orders  to  let  nobody  pass  out 
that  way.  I  was  afraid  to  show  my  pass 
for  I  would  have  been  put  under  guard 
and  sent  to  my  command ,  so  I  showed 
him  my  discharge  J  but  could  not  prevail 
on  him  to  let  me  pass.  I  then  went  to 
the  picket  camp  and  saw  the  captain  in 
command,  told  him  my  story  and  he 
told  me  how  to  go  so  as  to  miss  the  pick-' 
ets.  I  did  this  by  making  a  circuit 
around  the  picket,  striking  the  road 
leading  to  Van  Buren. 

I  took  this  road  feeling  happy  over  my 
success  and  the  prospect  of  meeting  the 
loved  ones  at  home.  The  land  of  my 
nativity  loomed  up  before  me  until  1 
almost  forgot  my  afflictions.  I  could 
picture  father,  niother^  brothers  and  sis- 
ters coming  to  meet  me  and  welcome  me 
home. 

It  was  on  my  second  day's  journey, 
about  10  o'clock,  a.  m.,  that  I  felt  wor- 
ried and  sleepy,  and  the  sun  was  so 
warm  that  I  C(mcluded  to  take  a  little 
rest,  so   I    ascended    a  hill  about  200 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


41 


yards  north  of  the  road.  Here  I  dis- 
mounted and  tied  my  horse  to  a  tree, 
unsaddled  and  made  a  bed  of  my  blan- 
ket and  a  pillow  of  my  saddle.  I  was 
soon  in  the  land  of  dreams,  and  had 
slept  an  hour  or  two  whert  I  was  awak- 
ened by  the  sound  of  horses  feet. 

I  looked  and  beheld  a  troop  of  75  or 
100  men  going  west.  It  occurred  to  my 
mind  that  I  could  have  company  and 
protection  on  the  way,  not  dreaming  that 
this  was  not  a  Southern  scout. 

I  hurriedly  saddled  up  and  struck  out 
intending  to  overtake  them,  and  I  think 
I  had  traveled  about  half  a  mile,  when 
a  woman  standing  in  a  yard,  which  I 
was  passing,  asked  me  if  I  was  a  Con- 
federate soldier.  When  I  admitted  the 
imputation,  she  told  me  that  the  squad 
of  men  that  had  just  passed,  was  a  band 
of  murderers  and  robbers  who  had  been 
committing  depredations  all  over  that 
country. 

Then,  to  help  me  to  avoid  coming  in 
contact  with  the  band,  she  showed  me  a 
way  through  her  field  and  directed  me 
how  to  go  to  the  home  of  Capt.  Johnson, 
an  officer  in  the  Confederate  arm  v. 


42 


WAB  SKETCHES. 


Gapt.  Johnson  was  at  hom^  and  wel* 
corned  me  heartily,  after  satisfying  him- 
self that  my  discharge  was  all  right.  He 
informed  me  that  he  would  be  at  home 
about  a  week^  and  that*  1  must  not  leave 
until  he  did  so  that  he  could  pilot  me 
out  of  the  neighborhood.  I  readily  ac- 
cepted his  offer  and  spent  the  week  quite 
pleasantly^  excepting  the  fact  that  we 
had  to  keep  very  close in  the  house, 
or  cane-brake.  We  might  have  had  a 
nicer  tim<e  if  we  could  have  had  the  lib- 
erty of  shooting  game,  but  this  we  dare 
not  do. 

It  was  with  many  regrets  that  1  parted 
from  Capt.  Johnson's  family,  especially 
his  pretty  daughter.  Their  kindness  will 
never  be  forgotten.  The  captain  and 
myself  left  his  home  after  dinner  and 
traveled  about  20  miles,  stopping  for  the 
night  with  one  of  his  friends.  Next 
morning  I  parted  from  Capt.  Johnson, 
never  to  meet  him  again. 

I  traveled  on  without  being  molested, 
hearing  of  murders  and  robberies  every 
day,  until  after  I  had  crossed  Horsehead 
creek,  when  I  heaT<l  a  noise  behind  me, 
and  looking  ])ae^^  ^       :bout  a  hundred 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


43 


men  who  halted  me  and  fired  on  me  at 
the  same  time.  As  my  business  engage- 
ments would  not  admit  of  any  stop  at 
that  time,  I  did  not  halt  but  put  spurs 
to  my  horse  and  fled.  I  took  to  the 
brush  with  the  enemy  close  on  my  heels, 
and  we  had  a  whipping  race  for  about 
two  miles,  when  they  stopped  and  I  con- 
gratulated myself  on  having  won  the 
race. 

I  traveled  on  through  the  mountains, 
keeping  a  westerly  course,  and  had  trav- 
eled five  or  six  miles  when  I  heard  the 
baying  of  two  hounds  behind  me.  I 
listened;  they  came  nearer  and  nearer 
and  I  was  soon  convinced  that  the 
deadly  blood  hound  was  on  my  trail. 

What  must  I  do?  What  could  I  do? 
My  mind  was  soon  made  up  that  my 
only  chance  was  in  flight,  so  I  fled  away 
in  a  brisk  gallop  and  kept  it  up  for  sev- 
eral miles,  until  my  horse  was  getting 
fagged.  Stopping  and  listening  intently  ' 
I  could  still  hear  the  hounds,  but  they 
were  a  long  way  off*  and,  to  rest  my 
horse,  I  rode  on  in  a  walk. 

All  at  once  the  cry  of  the  hounds 
ceased,  and  I  concluded  that  they  had 


44 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


givea  up  the  chase.  This  nale  ne  feel 
comfortable  again,  so  I  traveled  on  leis- 
urely for  some  time  when,  to  my  great 
surprise,  they  opened  fire  on  me  from 
my  left  and  charged  me  at  the  same 
time;  men,  dogs  and  all.  I  fled  to  the 
north  and  we  had  another  race  for  two 
or  three  miles,  they  keeping  up  a  con- 
stant fire  and  the  dogs  in  full  cry.  Here 
they  stopped  and  my  horse  slackened 
his  speed  to  take  a  breath. 

Soon  the  dogs  were  on  my  trail  again 
and  I  kept  a  close  watch  and  traveled 
briskly,  not  wishing  to  be  surprised 
again,  for  the  bullets  whistled  uncom- 
fortably thick  and  close  to  my  ears.  On 
reaching  Frog  Bayou,  I  took  a  road  lead- 
ing in  the  direction  of  Fayetteville. 

Here  they  gave  me  another  chase, 
lasting  perhaps  a  mile,  when  they  slack- 
ened their  speed  but  still  followed  me. 
Now  leaving  the  road  and  following  up 
a  canon,  I  ascended  a  high  bluff  on  my 
left,  hitched  my  horse  about  100  yards 
away,  crept  up  to  the  edge  and  looked 
over  the  bluff.  Here  came  a  man  with 
the  dogs  about  50  yards  ahead  of  the 
main  squad.    I  let  them  pass,  but  when 


I 


WAR  SKETCHES,  45 


the  squad  came  opposite  to  me,  I  raised 
my  gun,  having  previously  inserted  18 
buck-shot  in  each  barrel,  and  let  fly  with 
both  barrels.  I  then  threw  down  my 
gun  and  ran  for  my  horse,  but  the  dogs 
had  beaten  me  there  and  were  coming  to 
meet  me.  I  shot  both  of  them,  mount- 
ed my  horse  and  flew  from  that  spot  like 
the  ^^old  scratch''  was  after  me. 

I  then  went  over  on  Cedar  Creek  and 
stayed  all  night  at  Uncle  Billy  Lester's, 
reaching  home  the  next  day  about  nooii , 


I- 


46 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  VL 

When  I  got  home  I  found  the  people 
divided,  some  for  the  North  and  some 
for  the  south.  This  was  in  September, 
1862. 

Our  family  were  strong  Union  people, 
and  my  father  was  accused  of  being  an 
Abolitionist,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the 
interference  of  D.  C.  Williams,  Sutton 
F.  Cottrell  and  others,  of  Van*  Buren, 
we  would  have  suffered  at  the  hands  of 
the  Southern  soldiers.  As  it  was  they 
took  a  good  many  of  our  best  horses  for 
the  artillery,  and  foraged  very  heavily 
on  us. 

At  this  time  the  Federals  occupied 
Fayette ville.  Sometime  in  October  they 
made  a  raid  into  our  neighborhood,  but 
did  not  come  to  our  house.  The  first  we 
knew  of  their  approach  was  from  our 
neighbors,  who  came  rushing  down  the 
road  on  a  dead  run;  some  in  wagons  with 
such  of  their  bedding  and  the  like,  as 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


47 


they  could  get  into  the  wagon  easily, 
while  others  were  on  horses.  Some  car- 
ried feather  beds  and  others  bed  clothes, 
pillows  etc.  Here  they  went  pell-mell 
scared  out  of  their  wits,  sometimes  drop- 
ping a  pillow,  blanket,  quilt  or  perhaps 
some  wearing  apparel;  every  now  and 
then  dodging  out  into  the  brush  and  hid  - 
ing their  burdens  in  a  hollow  log,  tree 
3r  cliff. 

It  would  have  been  an  easy  job  to 
■.rail  them  by  the  things  they  lost.  To 
llustrate,  I  will  tell  how  two  partie. 
iid. 

My  brother-in-law,  John  Vinsant,  had 
noved  to  Uncle  Billy  Shannon's  plaee, 
3n  Cedar  Creek,  and  had  come  back  on 
Lees  Creek  after  a  load  of  corn  and  his 
chickens.  He  stayed  over  night  at  fath- 
er's house  and  got  me  to  go  and  aid  him 
n  loading  up,  so  he  could  start  home 
3arly.  The  fact  is  he  was  afraid  to  go  by 
limself.  We  loaded  the  wagon  with 
'orn;  then  went  to  the  coop,  caught 
md  tied  all  the  chickens  when  we  heard 
I  terrible  noise,  and  here  come  men. 
vomen  and  children  on  horse-back  and 
n  wagons,  running  like  they  were  scared 


48 


WAR  5  SKETCHES. 


to  deatli.  We  asked  several  of  them 
wliat  trouble  was  on  their  mind,  before 
v\^e  could  learn  anything.  At  last  a 
woman  told  us  that  the  Yankees  were 
back  there  just  about  a  mile,  and  were 
comin^  here/' 

It  was  John  Vinsant's  time  now  to  s:et 
scared.  He  gathered  up  about  a  dozen 
chickens,  threw  them  in  the  \vagoa  and 
started  his  o:^en.  I  managed  to  get  all 
the  chickens  in  the  wagon  by  running 
after  him  50  or  75  yards.  John  was  a 
great  hand  to  holla  at  his  oxen,  but  this 
time  he  drove  off  as  silent  as  death.  We 
had  not  gone  far  until  the  chickens  be- 
gan to  flutter,  and  every  now  and  then 
a  chicken  would  flop  out  of  the  wagon, 
but  John  did  not  have  time  to  pick  them 
up,  so  the  chickens  were  scattered,  a 
rooster  here  and  a  pullet  there,  for  sev- 
eral miles  along  the  road.  When  John 
got  home  he  did  not  have  a  single  chick- 
en left. 

Another  man  was  hauling  corn  up  the 
Lees  Greek  mountain,  and  just  as  he  got 
to  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  the  refugees 
began  to  pass  and  told  him  the  Yankees 
were  back  there  just  a  short  distance. 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


49 


Then  he  took  a  scare  and  told  one  of  his 
boys  to  drive  up  fast,  and  for  the  other 
to  throw  out  corn;  while  he  would  go 
home  and  tell  their  mother  to  get  ready 
to  move  to  the  woods.  He  had  not  gone 
far  until  he  concluded  he  could  not  af- 
ford to  lose  a  load  of  corn,  so  he  called 
back  to  the  boy  to  stop  throwing  out 
€orn.  t)ther  parties  in  passing  told  him 
frightful  stories  of  the  Yankees,  and  he 
again  ordered  the  boy  to  throw  out  corn. 
He  had  the  boy  stopping  and  throwing 
out  corn  alternately,  until  the  load  of 
corn  was  all  out. 

After  leaving  John  Vinsant,  1  went 
back  home.  All  ah^ng  the  road  I  found 
both  bed  and  wearing  clotlies,  pillows 
etc.,  that  had  been  lost  iiT^  the  flight. 

I  then  concluded  to  hunt^up  the  Yan- 
kees and  find  out  what  they  were  doing. 
I  found  them  after  sundown,  at  the  Nat- 
ural Dam  on  Mountain  Fork,  where  they 
had  gone  into  camps  near  Net  Fort's 
house.  I  hitched  my  horse,  slipped  up 
and  took  a  peep  at  them.  This  satisfied 
my  curiosity,  for  it  gave  me  the  ''buck 
ager,'  '  so  I  mounted  my  horse  and  went 
home.      As  soon  as  my  father  learned 


0(j  WAR  8KET0HES.-  ^  . 

Mii-^.  advised  me  to  put  the  Arkansas 
river  between  me  and  the.  Yankees,  that 
if  1  stayed  about  home  they  would  be 
liable  to  burn  him  out. 

I  did  not  tarry  long  but  started  on  my 
way  to  Van  Buren.  Just  as  I  was  climb- 
ing the  steepest  part  of  Lees  Creek 
mountain,  men  seemed  to  come  i^p  out 
of  the  ground  all  around  me,  presented 
their  guns  at  me  and  asked  who  I  was. 
I  answered  that  I  w^as  a  soldier.  Then 
one  of  the  men  spoke  up  and  said:  He's 
all  right,  I  know  him.  I  knew  his  voice 
it  was  Harvey  Low.  Harvey  then  told 
them  he  was  sick  and  that  I  knew  the 
country  as  well  as  he  did,  so  he  was  re- 
leased as  pilot  and  I  was  pressed  in.  By 
this  time  I  found  out  that  these  men 
were  *  the  advance  of  Gen.  McDonald's 
Missouri  troops.  I  then  piloted  them  to 
the  Yankee  camp,  but  they  w6re  gone. 

We  then  took  the  Evansville  road, 
and  by  the  time  we  reached  the  top  of 
Boston  mountain,  the'  chickens  were 
crowing  for  day. 

The  major  asked  me  if  1  had  ever 
beared  of  a  man  by  the  name  of  Quan- 
rrelL    T  ^-aid  T  liad.    Then  lie  asked  me 


WAR  iSKETOHES. 


5] 


what  I  thought  of  him.  I  told  him  I 
did  not  think  he  ctught  to  be  hung  or 
shot,  but  tied  to  a  stake  and  tortured  to 
death  by  a  slow  fire.  He  then  said  he 
had  orders  to  arrest  Quantrell,  and  was 
gathering  all  the  evidence  he  could 
against  him,  to  be  used  in  case  he  was 
caught  and  brought  to  trial. 

JBy  this  time  it  was  daylight  and  we 
had  reached  the  north  foot  of  Boston 
mountain,  and  the  major  asked  me  who 
I  thought  I  had  been  riding  wiih  all 
night.  I  said,  a  nice^  Confederate  officer, 
of  course.  He  then  said:  what  would 
you  think  if  I  should  tell  you  that  you 
had  been  riding  all  nightlong  with  the 
fellow  you  wanted  to  burn?  I  thought 
he  was  joking  and  said  so.  Several  of 
his  men  spoke  up  and  said  he  was  Major 
Quantrell. 

What  do  you  think  now?"  said  the 
major.  I  replied  that  I  thought  he 
would  lie,  and  his  men  would  swear  to 
it.  He  then  told  me  to  ask  Gen,  Mc- 
Donald, which  I  did.  His  answer  was: 
''Major  Quantrell." 

I  felt  that  my  time  had  come  and  soon 
"ivauld  end.    I  began  to  talk  to  the  gen- 


52 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


erat  about  the  Yankees  and  to  tell  him 
all  I  knew  about  them  and  more  too. 
He  did  not  listen  long  until  he  ordered 
me  to  the  advance.  I  did^not  go,  so  he 
ordered  me  again.  Still  I  did  not  go.  He 
then  threatened  to  send  me  to  the  front 
under  guard.  This  got  a  move  on  me 
and  I  lit  out  in  a  brisk  gallop.  The  idea 
struck  me  that  if  the  opportunity  pres- 
ented, I  would  give  them  the  dodge,  but 
the  advance  was  not  far  enough  ahead 
to  give  me  a  show  to  run,  so  I  just  push- 
ed ahead  as  though  nothhig  had  gone 
wrong,  though  I  felt  sure  that  Q^iantrell 
would  have  me  shot  or  hung.  On  reach- 
ing Quantreirs  rear  the  men  began  to 
tantalize  nie  and  if  one  of  them  had 
punclied  me  with  his  finger  I  would  have 
fallen  from  my  horse;  my  legs  were  so 
limber. 

When  Quantiigll  saw  me  he  knew  from 
my  downcast  appearance  tliat  I  was  sold 
out,  so  he  began  talking  about  the  tim- 
ber, the  soil  and  the  product  of  the  soil. 
He  continued  the  conversation  quite 
pleasantly  until  after  Evansville  was 
passed.  Here  I  told  a  great  yarn  to  the 
major^    complaining  of  l^eing  sick  and 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


53 


wanting  to  go  home.  He  consented  to 
my  going  and  showed  me  the  road  to 
take,  but  cautioned  me  to  get  out  of 
sight  quick,  for  if  Gen.  McDonald  saw 
me  he  would  send  for  me. 

At  this  I  put  spurs  to  my  horse  and 
fairly  flew  from  there.  As  I  left  I  could 
almost  feel  the  bullets  in  my  back,  I  was 
so  sure  they  would  shoot  me  in  the  back. 
But  they  did  not. 


54 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

1  traveled  rather  an  easterly  course  for 
several  miles,  so  as  to  strike  Boston 
mountain  east  of  Cove  creek,  for  I  was 
afraid  to  2:0  down  Cove  creek  or  west  of 
it  because  there  were  certain  parties  in 
that  region  who  had  no  o'ood  feelino-  for 
me.  I  soon  turned  south,  and  taking  a 
path  which  lead  across  Boston. mountain, 
I  traveled  on  quietly  until  I  reached  the 
going  clown  plst^ce  on  the  south  side, 
when  I  looked  to  one  side  of  the  road  and 
oh  horror!  there  about  75  yards  from  me 
were  nearly  50  men;  some  on  horseback 
and  some  dismounted.  They  fired  on 
me  without  saying  a  word  and  1  did  noc 
v^ait  to  be  told  tu  run.  After  about  a 
three  liours  chase.  I  ran  into  Quantrell's 
camp  on  Cane  liill.  a  little  prouder  to 
o:et  back  to  him  than  I  was  to  leave  him. 
My  horse  Avas  completely  fagged,  and  if 
^  had  not  accidentally  iV.und  Quantrell, 
.-ley  would  have  eaught  me  ^«ure. 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


55 


Next  morning  I  st  arted  for  home  again 
and  Quantrell  sent  a  scout  with  me  as 
far  as  Natural  Dam,  which  was  within 
four  miles  of  home. 

My  relatives  had  been  very  uneasy 
about  me,  as  they  had  seen  several  peo- 
ple from  Van  Buren  and  could  not  hear 
of  me. 

Capt.  Winn,  a  Missourian,  arrived  at 
our  house  about  this  time  and  told  such 
scary  tales  that  father  and  mother  were 
afraid  for  me  to  try  to  stay  at  home, 
CajTt.  Winn  was  trying  to  make  his  way 
to  Gen.  McDonald's  command  and  I  con- 
cluded to  go  with  him.  We  started  after 
an  early  breakfast  and  reached  the  army 
about  noon.  They  were  still  camped  on 
€ane  Hill,  the  place  where  I  had  left 
them.  Quantrell  saw  me  and  called  me 
his  ^ ^burning  young  man.'' 

Next  morning,  just  as  day  was  break- 
ing and  all  were  in  bed,  the  roar  of  artil- 
lery and  the  bursting  of  bombs  in  the 
tops  of  the  trees,  aroused  us  and  made 
us  realize  that  the  Yankees  were  close  to 
us.  In  a  few  moments  all  was  bustle 
and  confusion,  and  before  I  got  my  horse 
saddled,   Quantrell' s  men  were  in  line 


56 


WAK  3  SKETCHES. 


mouated  and  ready  to  meat  the  ena^ay. 
I  was  in  the  act  of  mounting  when  Maj . 
Quantrell  rode  up  to  me  and  said: 

Well  J  my  burning  young  man,  do 
you  want  to  fight  with  us  today?" 

1  said  ''yes/'  and  he  dismounted  and 
said:  ''Before  you  can  fight  with  us  I 
will  have  to  administer  an  oath  to  you." 
This  has  since  been  styled  the  "Black 
Oath/' 

After  taking  the  oath  I  mounted  my 
horse  and  fell  into  line  with  QuantrelPs 
men.  Capt.  Winn  had  already  fell  into 
line  with  tliem. 

Shall  I  tell  you,  dear  reader,  what  I 
saw  of  the  battle  of  Cane  Hill?  It  pos- 
sesses a  perennial  interest,  yet  it  is  so 
familiar. 

We  were  awakened  by  the  roar  of  ar- 
tillery, the  ominous  sounds  of  which 
Avere  unpleasant  couriers  of  the  day's 
strife.  Your  toilet  is  not  a  heavy  affair 
on  the  eve  of  a  battle.  You  have  only 
to  put  on  your  riding  coat,  buckle  on 
your  belt,  rub  your  eyes  and  you  are 
ready  5:^r  the  i^^ay 

On  th':  !:>arti: -uctr  morning,  all  around 
us  was  bui^Tie  and  hurry.    To  the  fences 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


57 


and  tree  boughs  were  affixed  the  horses 
of  couriers  and  officers.  Mounted  men 
constantly  went  and  came.  A  sullen 
gun,  at  intervals,  mingled  with  the  cla.t- 
ter  of  sabres  and  the  sound  of  horses' 
hoofs. 

There  were  only  six  regiments  with 
which  to  hold  at  bay  the  hungry  hoards 
opposing  us~5,000  men  against  12,000. 
A  regiment  would  form  across  the  road, 
meet  the  ontlaught  of  the  advancing 
army,  fire  and  fall  back  in  good  order  to 
the  rear. 

We  were  soon  drawn  up  in  line  ready 
to  cugag^^  the  enemy.  A  t  that  moment 
a  long  roar  of  musketry  under  the  liil! 
told  that  the  battle  was  on.  It  steadily 
increased  in  intensity,  but  did  not  recede 
or  approach — we  were  evidently  holding 
our  ground. 

Long  rows  of  glittering  bayonets  were 
soon  seen  hurrying  to  the  attacking 
point.  Quantrelks  band  of  150  men, 
tall,  swarthy,  cool  and  ^'spoiling  for  a 
fight;"  rode  rapidly  in  the  direction  of 
the  firing.  The  roar  of  the  guns  was  now 
near  at  hand — incessant,  obstinate,  and 
our  lines  were  becoming  demoralized  by 


58 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


the  raking  fire  of  grape,  sliell,  canister 
and  musl^etry;  and  tlie  triumpliant  ene- 
my was  pressing  forward  with  wild 
cheers  and  exultant  yells. 

Here  I  first  discovered  in  Quantrell 
the  supreme  attributes  of  a  military  gen- 
ius. He  seemed  to  rise  under  pressure; 
and  grow  cooler  and  more  invincible,  as 
peril  grew  near.  The  air  was  full  of 
balls,  and  the  whole  scene  was  one  glare 
of  musketry  and  cannon,  and  on  all 
sides  were  heard  groans,  cheers  and 
shouts  of  triumph  or  despair;  but  it  was 
impossible  to  discern  upon  his  face  any 
traces  of  emotion.  His  movements  were 
as  measured  and  calm  as  if  on  parade. 

In  three  minutes  now  the  shock  must 
come,  I  saw  plainly;  but  Quantrell  ap- 
peared as  indifferent  as  though  perfectly 
certain  of  the  result. 

We  had  been  dismounted,  our  horses 
sent  to  the  rear,  and  w^e  were  secreted 
behind  trees,  logs,  rocks  and  everything 
else  that  would  afford  shelter.  The  ene- 
my b'"^  '  '  ^^"'^  a  po^^ition  on  Cane  Hill, 
and  y  seemed  to  crown  every 

kniuL  -  ; ontinued  to  pour  a-heavy 
fire  of  small  arms  upon  the  Southern 


WAR  SKETCHES 


59 


lines,  and  the  only  response  was  from 
six  pieces  of  artillery.  These  were  under 
the  crest  and  engaged  the  Federal  bat- 
teries at  close  range.  The  fire  jiow  be- 
came very  heavy,  with  the  enemy  stead- 
ily advancing.  If  we  were  flanked  we 
would  have  to  either  retreat  or  suffer 
capture. 

They  were  within  sevent3^-five  yards 
of  us  when  Quantrell  exclaimed: 

^^Steady  boys,  steady.    All's  well.'' 

A  volley  came  fi^om  the  enemy  as  he 
spoke.  He  ordered  his  men  to  fire.  The 
true  aim  of  his  clan  told  on  the  advanc- 
ing troops,  and  the  Federals  broke  and 
retreated  under  cover  of  the  high  ground 
in  the  rear.  There  they  reformed,  and, 
under  the  influence  of  whisky  and  the 
persuasion  of  their  officers,  charged  our 
position.  Quantrell  commanded  his 
men  to  reserve  their  fire,  cautioned  them 
to  coolness  and  said: 

''Aim  for  the  face,  boys.  A  man 
wuth  a  slight  wound  in  the  face  will  not 
trouble  you  any  more  today." 

On  they  came  like  mad.  A  hand  to 
hand  conflict  was  the  result.  Wild 
cheers   rose  from  the  men.      The  roar 


60 


WAR  SKETCHES, 


seemed  redoubled  and  all  the  furies 
seemed  to  be  let  loose.  It  was  no  longer 
a  battle  but  a  perfect  pandemonium.  In 
this  wild  turmoil  men  would  raise  on 
their  elbows  to  cheer,  the  blood  would 
spout  from  bosom  or  face,  and  with  a 
gurgle  and  groan,  sink  back  on  the 
ground.  Men  never  fought  better,  and 
as  soon  as  one  after  another  fell,  his 
place  was  taken  and  they  kept  at  their 
work  like  veterans. 

And  of  QuantrelPs  men?  In  the 
thickest  of  the  fight,  with  peculiar  smiles 
playing  over  tlie  bronzed  and  swarthy 
faces,  uttering  either  exultant  diecrs  or 
words  of  encouragement,  they  presented 
splendid  pictures.  The  fire  of  the  born 
soldier  fiamed  in  their  regard,  and  their 
martial  spirits  rode,  as  it  were,  upon  the 
wave  of  battle;  rejoicing  in  the  storm. 

Six  regiments  were  employed  in  stay- 
ing the  swarm  of  blue-coats  that  at  first 
threatened  to  engulf  us.  They  were  de- 
ployed as  follows:  and  for  convenience 
we  will  number  them  one,  two,  three, 
four  five  airJ  six.  Each,  within  itself, 
was  uiadequate  to  withstand  the 

impetuous  i  islaughts  of  the  enemy. 


WAK  SKETCHKfci 


61 


Number  one  was  formed  in  line  of  bat- 
tle across  the  road,  and  after  receiving 
the  charge  of  the  Federal  forces,  would 
retire  to  the  rear  of  number  six.  Num- 
ber two  then  received  the  next  charge, 
and  likewise  retired  to  the  rear  of  num- 
ber one.  This  consecutive  forming  and 
retiring  was  kept  up  all  day  long,  until 
night  put  an  end  to  the  battle,  and  the 
sable  curtain  of  darkness  was  in  pity 
drawn  over  the  field  of  carnage. 

At  about  10  o'clock,  a.m.,  a  ball 
struck  the  gallant  Winn,  and  he  fell  to 
rise  no  more.  Not  a  few  will  remember 
his  patriotic  gallantry  on  that  day,  and 
his  zeal  and  bravery  served  as  an  impe- 
tus to  many  on  that  memorable  occasion. 


©HAPT^R  VIII. 

Our  aroay  Ml  back  to  Van  Buren  and 
I  returned  home,  and  remained  there  un- 
til the  battle  of  Prairie  Grove  was  fought. 
It  was  after  night  when  I  heard  that 
Gen.  Hindman's  army  was  moving 
north,  and  knowing  that  the  Yankees 
were  camped  at,  or  near  Prairie  Grove,  I 
was  satisfied  that  a  battle  was  pending. 

I  made  up  my  mind  to  start  early  the 
•  next  morning,  and  when  the  sun  was  an 
hour  high,  I  struck  the  road  our  army 
had  traveled,  on  Cove  Creek.  By  this 
time  I  could  distinctly  hear  the  rattle  of 
musketry  and  the  roar  of  cannon.  I 
fully  realized  that  a  terrible  battle  was 
being  fought. 

I  pushed  ahead  at  a  brisk  gallop,  and 
by  10  o'clock  arrived  in  full  view  of  the 
battle  ground,  looking  from  a  high  piece 
of  ground  southward  from  Prairie  Grove, 
and  oh!  such  a  sight  as  met  ^py  gaze! 

From  my  positi(i)n-  I  could  see  the  ar- 


tillery  on  both  sides,  they  being  posted 
on  high  ground.  For  a  time  the  infantry 
could  not  be  seen  on  account  of  the 
clouds  of  smoke  hanging  over  the  field. 
Finally  the  wind  blew  the  smoke  away, 
and  I  could  distinctly  see  the  position;] 
of  the  infantry  and  cavalry  on  both 
sides. 

Presentl}'  I  dould  see  the  Federals  nd- 
vancing  in  solid  phalanx,  to  the  place 
where  tlie  Confederates  were  lyirig  in 
line,  just  over  the  turn  of  a  ridge.  They 
advanced  to  within  a  short  distance  of 
the  Rebels  and  charged  with  a  yell  and 
they  seemed  to  mingle  together.  An  iro 
merise  cloud  of  smoke  now  arose,  fixnw. 
.  which  lightning  seemed  to  flash  oo'  - 
santly.  In  a  short  time  the  Federal o 
emerged  from  the  smoke  on  a  run,  and 
soon  disappeared  in  the  timber  on  the 
creek. 

The  .smoke  soon  cleared  awaj^  and  I 
could  see  the  Rebels  rallying,  apparent];; 
'for  a  charge.  They  soon  began  to  ad~ 
vance,  and  when  within  a  short  distance 
of  the  timber  I  heard  the  ''rebel  yell,''' 
and  they  dashed  in,  disappearing  from 
si^ht.    From  the  rattle  of  musketry,  ^  1 


64 


WAR  SKETCHES* 


knew  there  was  a  terrible  battle  being 
fought.  It  was  soon  over  and  the  Kebels 
came  out  of  the  timber  in  full  retreat. 

They  fell  back  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  and  here  they  rallied  and  began 
making  breastworks  of  a  fence,  by  laying 
the  outside  corners  down.  By  this  time 
I  could  see  the  blue-coats  emerge  from 
the  timber  in  solid  phalanx.  They  ad- 
vanced slowly  and  cautiously  until  they 
were  in  a  short  distance  of  the  Rebel 
lines,  when  they  charged  with  a  yell. 

Here  another  terrible  conflict  took 
place,  but  it  lasted  only  a  short  time 
until  the  Federals  were  fleeing  in  all  di- 
rections. They  did  not  stop  at  the  creek 
this  time,  but  were  rallied  on  the  high 
ground  beyond. 

I  then  descended  the  hill  and  went 
over  a  part  of  the  battle  field  where  the 
last  fight  took  place.  The  dead  and  dy- 
ing were  lying  in  heaps  all  over  the 
ground. 

Tongue  cannot  express  the  horrors  of 
that  terrible  carnage,  so  I  prefer  to  pass 
over  the  scene  until  eternity  reveals  it. 

After  the  battle  I  returned  home, 
where  I  remained  about  a  week.  One 


WAR  SKETCHEfe 


6d 


morning  father  told  me  he  felt  like  there 
was  trouble  in  store  for  us,  and  said  we 
had  better  keep  a  sharp  look  out.  So 
we  saddled  our  horses  and  tied  them  to 
posts  at  the  front  gate.  We  then  went 
into  the  house  to  get  our  blankets,  when 
we  heard  a  great  noise,  and  here  came 
Oaloway  Capp  running  for  dear  life  and 
out  of  breath.  He  could  not  talk  for  a 
time,  but  as  soon  as  he  could  get  his 
breath  he  told  us  to  get  away  from  there 
for  the  malitia  were  coming  to  kill  us 
and,  he  continued:  ''If  they  see  me  here 
they  will  kill  me  too.''  Then  he  fled 
for  life. 

He  was  barely  out  of  sight  when  the 
malitia  came  over  the  hill  pell  mell,  at 
the  top  of  their  horses'  speed.  We  ran 
to  our  horses  and  mounted,  but  I  forgot 
to  untie  my  horse  from  the  post.  Father 
had  been  more  thoughtful  and  was  now 
riding  away  at  full  speed,  while  I  was 
fast  to  the  post. 

Here  they  came,  shooting  and  yelling 
like  wild  demons.  What  could  I  do? 
''Cut  the  rope,"  rang  in  my  ears.  It 
seemed  like  it  took  an  age  to  get  my 
knife  out  of  my  pocket  and  cut  the  rope. 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


By  this  time  the  malitia  were  within  20 
yards  of  me.  Now,  dear  reader,  such 
running  you  have  seldom  seen.  I  out- 
ran them'  so  badly  on  a  mile  race  that 
they  gave  it  up  as  a  bad  job  and  let  me 
go. 

Father  had  gone  north  while  I  fled 
south,  and  on  account  of  my  being  de- 
hxecl,  made  his  escape  quite  easily. 

I  ^-'laid  out"  that  night  in  the  forks  of 
a  big  log,  which  1  filled  with  leaves  and 
trash.  All  night  long  the  snow  pattered 
on  the  leaves,  and  in  my  imagination  I 
could  hear  the  enemy  talking.  One 
would  say,  "let's  shoot  him,"  another 
would  say.  "let's hang  him,"  and  still 
another  would  say,  "no,  let  us  burn  him 
at  a  stake . ' ' 

By  this  time  I  could  stand  it  no  long- 
er, so  out  I  would  pop  from  my  nest 
onlv  to  find  it  to  be  all  imagination. 

After  rambling  arormd  for  some  time 
in  a  vain  effort  to  find  the  enemy,  I 
would  crawl  back  into  my  nest  almost 
frozen,  only  to  repeat  this  getting  out, 
ever  and  anon,  through  the  whole  night 
long.  ■  fter  a  wearisome  night,  which 
seemed  to  me  a  week  long,  daylight  ap- 


WAR  SKETCHED  67 


^  €upied  on  the  side  of  the  mountam,  1 
could  see  for  some  distance  up  and  dowa 
the  valley^  but  the  enemy  did  not  come 
in  sight,  so  about  an  hour  by  sun  I  ven- 
tured home  to  get  my  breakfast  and  feed 
my  horse. 

Father  had  not  yet  returned,  and  as 
mother  was  very  uneasy  about  him,  I 
set  out  in  search  of  him.  After  riding 
all  over  the  countr}^  and  searching  hi  the- 
most  likely  places  for  him,  it  oecurred  to 
my  mind  that  he  might  have  gone  to  a 
cliff  of  rock  north  of  our  field,  known  as 
the  ^ ^Buzzard  Roost."  . 

On  reaching  this  place  I  found  he  had 
staid  there  the  night  before  but  had  left. 
I  then  turned  toward  home,  expecting 
to  find  him  there.  On  the  way  home  T 
fell  in  with  Dr.  Sloan,  of  Evansville, 
Ark.,  who  was  going  to  our  house. 

We  got  there  just  after  dark,  fed  our 
horses  in  a  thicket  and  slept  in  some 
bushes  and  weeds  in  the  orchard.  Wo 
got  up  before  daylight  and  slipped  to  the 
house  and  got  our  breakfast. 

After  we  had  finished  our  breakfast, 
we  went  out  to  our  horses.    Here  he  told 


^  WARiSKETCHES, 

me  that  he  had  taken  his  two  hoys  (say 
12  and  14  years  of  age)  out  south  of  Ft. 
Smith  and  left  them  while  he  went  back 
home  to  get  his  money  that  he  had  bur- 
ied. He  said  he  had  succeeded  in  get- 
ting the  money,  and  he  wanted  me  to 
take  it  and  deliver  it  to  the  boys. 

The  doctor  then  took  off  a  belt  which 
reached  from  his  armpits  to  his  hips, and 
poured  the  gold  coin  from  it  on  the 
ground.  I  aided  him  in  counting  it. 
The  amount  was  $7,300. 

He  begged  and  plead  with  me  to  take 
the  money  and  convey  it  to  his  sons;  say- 
ing he  was  going  to  be  killed  and.  would 
never  see  his  boys.  I  argued  with  him 
that  I,  being  a  soldier,  was  liable  to  be 
killed  at  any  time;  when  he  could  pass 
unmolested,  from  the  fact  that  a  doctor 
is  not  considered  as  a  belligerent  in  war. 
Finding  that  he  could  not  prevail  on 
me  to  take  his  money,  he  asked  me  to 
pilot  him  out  of  danger,  to  which  I 
agreed. 

We  kept  ourselves  concealed  all  that 
day,  and  after  night  we  started  on  what 
I  considered  the  safest  route.  After 
traveling  about  six  miles,    the  doctor 


WAR  SKETCHKh, 


<^oiicladed  he  could  make  it  alone,  so  I 
bid  him  good-bye  and  turned  back. 

On  reaching  home  I  found  that  the 
enemy  had  been  there  looking  for  me. 
Mother  begged  me  to  leave  home,  for 
it  was  getting  cold  and  she  argued 
thus:  ''It  is  too  cold  for  you  to  lay  out, 
and  you  will  catch  your  death  of  cold,  if 
they  don't  kill  you. ' ' 


70 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

I  started  at  once  for  John  Vinsant's^ 
on  Oedar  Greek,  and  reached  his'hj  ne 
about  10  o'clock  at  night.  John  told  me 
that  father  had  been  there  and  had  been 
quite  sick,  but  had  got  better  and  gone 
to  Mrs.  Vinsant's,  on  the  Arkansas  river 
below  Van  Buren.  I  then  went  to  Mrs. 
Vinsant's  where  1  found  father  able  to  be 
up,  but  still  quite  feeble. 

Father  was  so  uneasy  about  mother 
and  the  children  that  I  started  back" 
home  just  after  dark.  I  arrived  at  home 
about  two  or  three  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  found  the  family  terri  bly  scared 
for  the  same  parties  who  had  reported 
my  father  to  the  Confederate  officers  as 
a  Black  Abolitionist,  had  deserted  the 
Confederate  army  and  taken  sides  with 
the  North.  They  had  formed  themselves 
into  what  they  termed  a  "Malitia  Com- 
pany," and  were  now  prowling  over  the 
country,  robbing  helpless  women  and  • 


WAR  «KETOHEh, 


71 


iidroii,  and  kiiiiug  old  men  and  boys, 
other  told  me  that  Dr.  Bloan  had  not 
^ne  but  a  short  distance  after  leaving 
3,  when  this  malitia  mob  captured  him 
id  took  him  to  Widow  Low's  house, 
d  kept  him  there  until  they  found  out 
had  the  small  pox.  They  then  put 
m  in  an  out-house  and  barred  the 
or  so  he  could  not  get  out.  I  think 
is  was  sometime  betweenDecember  15, 
62.  and  January  1,  1863. 
After  they  had  penned  the  doctor  up, 
leavy  snow  fell  and  they  would  not 
nture  in  to  make  him  a  fire,  give  him 
3ite  to  eat  or  even  a  drink  of  water; 
t  satisfied  their  consciences  by  punch- 
^  the  chinking  out  of  a  crack  and  put- 
.g  some  victuals  through  the  hole  on  a 
ard  to  him. 

Finally,  one  morning  he  failed  to  an- 
er  when  they  called  him.  Then  they 
ited  a  day  or  t  v\^o  before  they  unbarred 
3  door.  They  found  the  doctor  frozen 
death.  It  seemed  that  he  had  crawl- 
around  on  the  floor,  and  not  being 
e  to  get  up  on  the  bed;  perished  with- 
j  anyone  to  speak  a  kind  word  or  give 
a  something  to  relieve  his  suffering  in 


WAE  SKETCHES. 


the  agonies  of  death. 

After  hearing  this  ,  tale  of  suifering, 
and  of  the  inhumanity  of  these  brutes 
m  human  shape;  I  determined,  if  possi- 
ble, to  spoil  their  sport  to  some  extent  at 
least.  So  I  went  to  a  pla.ce  on  a  steep 
inoantain  side,  on  what  is  called  a 
bench.  Here  it-  seemed  that  in  time 
there  had  been  an  upiieaval  of  earth. 
There  was  a  place  sunk  back  next  to  the 
^nountain  about  30  yards  long  and  deep 
enough  to  hide  a  dozen  horses. 

To  this  place  I  carried  feed  for  my 
horse,  and  after  getting  all  ready,  I  left 
my  horse  here  and  began  to  reconnoiter. 
I  kept  well  to  ^  the  mountain  sides  and 
watched  for  the  enemy. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  1  came  near  Croff 
Rainwater's  house,  at  the  south  end  of 
Long  Mountain,  and  from  my  position 
could  see  the  house  quite  plainly.  I  did 
not  wait  long  until  OrofF  Rainwater  and 
eight  or  ten  of  his  clan,  came  to  his 
house  and  put  up  their  horses  and  fed 
them.  T  then  fell  back  and  took  a  posi- 
tion where  I  had  a  full  view  of  John 
Fain's  house. 

I  could  see  about  20  or  30  men  at  this 


WAR  SKETCHED, 


73 


place,  and  about  sundown  they  mounted 
their  horses  and  rode  off  in  the  direction 
of  Rainwater's  house. 

I  then  went  back  to  my  old  stand  to 
watch  the  Rainwater  house,  pretty  soon 
Fain's  crowd  rode  up  and  dismounted. 
Rainwater  and  his  gang  then  saddled 
their  horses,  and  the  whole  squad  struck 
out  with  me  after  them,  at  a  safe  dis- 
tance, however. 

They  first  went  to  the  house  of  San- 
ford  Rainwater.  Here  I  got  in  the 
<3himney  corner  and  caught  their  plans. 
They  then  visited  Aunt  Peggy  Hill, 
whose  husband  had  been  taken  north  as 
a  prisoner  of  war.  Here  they  cut  quite 
a,  swell  and  robbed  the  lady  of  bed- 
clothes, etc. 

They  next  visited  Hannah  Bowen  and 
Net  Fort.  At  these  houses  I  think  they 
took  two  or  three  horses  in  addition  to 
the  household  goods  taken.  They  then 
went  to  Andrew  Morton's,  and  here  they 
were  joined  by  Jess  Morton,  Bill  Oliver 
and  Bill  Harness.  Then  the  mob  visited 
Widow  Snider  and  did  their  dirty  work. 

Here  they  turned  west,  taking  what 
was  then  termed  ^'the  new  cut  road," 


74 


WAR  SKETCHES, 


leading  in  thq, direction  of  father's  house, 
which  was  about  three  miles  distant.  I 
was  now  perplexed,  and  not  knowing 
what  else  to  do,  kept  following  on. 

When  near  our  house  they  stopped 
and  parleyed  a  long  time,  then  charged 
the  house  makmg  all  the  noise  they 
could.  When  they  got  there  and  found 
no  men  at  home,  they  cursed  and  abus- 
ed mother  and  the  children,  father  and 
me,  and  said  if  they  caught  us  they 
would  kill  us.  I  could  hear  what  they 
said  for  I  was  close  by  in  a  corner  of  the 
fence.  It  was  now  about  two  or  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  after  taking 
a  lot  of  clothing,  etc.,  they  left. 

My  brother,  Marion,  was  now  16  years 
of  age  and  still  at  home.  They  threat- 
ened to  take  him  away  with  them,  and 
would  I  believe,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
interference  of  Jess  Morton. 

After  they  had  gone  1  induced  Marion 
to  go  with  me,  which  he  readily  consent- 
ed to  do.  So  after  he  got  his  arms 
^ (which  were  then  hid)  rubbed  them  up 
and  loaded  his  old  double  barrel  with  a 
double  charge  and  buckled  on  his  navy, 
we  set  out. 


WAR  SKETCHES 


75 


We  found  them  at  John  Fain's,  and 
sUpped  into  the  chimney  corner  to  h'sten. 
Such  bragging  about  their  booty^  and 
how  they  intended  to  do  in  the  future, 
is  simply  unreasonable  to  tell.  However, 
they  agreed  to  go  and  burn  the  dAvell- 
ings  of  John  Yinsant  and  Harvey  Trow- 
er. 

This  was  enough  for  us.  We  set  out 
in  the  ^direction  of  Vinsant's,  but  before 
getting  there  we  came  to  a  rivulet  which 
crossed  the  road,  and  there  being  heavy 
timber  enough  to  make  it  quite  dark,  we 
decided  this  was  the  spot  for  us. 

We  soon  heard  them  coming,  and,  se- 
creting ourselves  behind  trees,  awaited 
their  approach.  The  sound  of  horses 
feet  came  nearer  and  nearer  and  thump- 
a-thump  went  nay  heart,  and  1  could 
hardly  keep  it  out  of  my  mouth,  and 
such  shaking!  I  have  concluded  that  it 
was  a  case  of  ^^buck  ager." 

We  let  them  pass,  and  just  as  the 
hindmost  men  passed  we  stepped  out  in 
the  road,  leveled  our  old  shot  guns  just 
above  their  horses'  backs  and  turned 
loose  the  contents  of  the  four  barrels  at' 
-once.      Instead  of  the  bitter  oaths  they 


76  -  WAB  SKETCHES. 


had  been  uttering^  we  could  hear  the  cry 
^^Lord  have  mercy/^  and  so  on^  and  it 
was  a  sight  the  way  they  run. 

I  suppose  they  forgot  to  burn  the 
houses  as  they  passed,  but  I  had  to  ex* 
cuse  them  as  they  were  in  a  hurry. 


WAR  SKETCHES, 


77 


CHAPTER  X. 

We  reached  home  just  before  daylight 
and  found  mother  badly  scared  and  she 
persuaded  Marion  to  go  to  brother  Henry 
anJ  join  the  regular  army.  Fie  agreed 
to  go,  so  after  asking  mother  to  pack 
Marion's  clothes,  we  went  bacic  to  my 
hiding  place. 

We  did  not  stay,  here  long,  but  set  out 
to  reeonnoiterf*  going  onto  Long  Mount- 
ain and  watching  Fam's  and  Rainwater's 
houses  alternately.  We  could  see  men 
slipping  in  and  out. at  both  these  places. 
They  were  not  so  bold  as  they  had  been. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  we  concluded  to 
go  home  and  get  something  to  eat  and 
Marion's  clothes;  so  we  went  down  Long 
Mountain  near  the  north  end  and  cross- 
ed Lees  creek,  striking  the  mountain  on 
the  west  side,  just  north  of  the  Stone 
farm.  We  went  nearly  to  the  top  of  the 
mountain  and  then  proceeded  north.  It 
was  now  about  sundown,  and  we  pro- 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


oeeded  cautiously  for  some  distance^ 
when  suddenly  Marion  caught  me  by  the 
arm  and  pointed  in  front  of  us.  Only 
about  75  yards  from  us,  on  the  edge  of  a 
high  bluff,  sat  one  of  these  devils,  with 
his  feet  hanging  off,  watching  ourhouse. 

He  seemed  to  be  interested  to  that  ex- 
tent that  he  failed  to  see  or  hear  us » 
Here,  dear  reader,  I  tooi^  the  ^buck  ager' 
again,  but  my  trusty  old  gun  did  not, 
and  perhaps  this  fellow  turned  to  an 
angel  as  he  sailed  over  the  bluff.  He 
ought  at  least  to  have  been  in  better 
business  than  robbing,  and  I  am  inclined 
to  think  he  quit  the  busines^^  that  day. 
Here  I  made  the  third  notch. 

We  then  went  to  my  den,  which  was 
only  about  a  half  mile  away,  and  taking- 
my  horse  down  the  mountain,  we  tied 
and  fed  him  in  a  thicket  and  went 
home. 

After  supper  mother  urged  us  to  leave, 
and  I  tell  you  it  did  not  take  much  per- 
suasion to  get  us  to  go. 

We  started  early  and  went  to  John 
Vinsant's  and  stopped  for  the  night. 
Next  day  we  kept  pretty  close,  staying 
the  se(M3nd  night  at  Vinsant's.  Next 


WAR  SKETOtIh> 


79 


morning  Marion  went  on  his  way  to  join 
the  army,  where  he  could  be  with  bro- 
ther Henry;  and  I,  having  given  my 
horse  to  Marion,  turned  my  course  afoot 
toward  Lees  creek. 

Some  may  think  it  sti'ange  that  I  did 
not  keep  Marion  with  me.  I  did  not 
persuade,  or  even  ask  him  to  stay,  for 
the  reason  that  he  was  liable  to  be  killed 
and  rae  blamed  for  it. 

I  slipped  through  the  mountains  cau- 
tiously, reaching  Long  Mountain  at  noon 
on  the  25th  of  January,  1863.  Here  I 
Avatched  the  Rainwater  and  Fain  houses 
alternately  until  the  middle  of  the  afte- 
noon  when  I  got  awfully  hungry,  so  I 
took  the  line  of  march  again  for  home, 
but  did  not  cross  the  creek  this  time  for 
fear  I  would  see  another  angel;  nor  did 
I  go  to  my  old  hiding  place  but  selected 
a  new  place  of  observation,  from  which 
I  had  a  fair  view  of  home  and  also  up 
and  down  the  valley. 

From  this  point  I  kept  a  close  watch 
out  until  dark,  and  not  having  seen  any- 
body astir  except  women  and  children, 
I  ventured  home.  Mother  had  not  been 
bothered  since  I  left  and  thought  the 


80 


WAB  SKKTCHES. 


gang  had  gone  to  Fayetteville*  Mowar 
now  urged  me  to  go  and  see  father  and 
get  me  a  horse  to  ride. 

After  night  I  went  to  John  Vinsant's, 
and^  next  mornmg  I  got  him  to  let  me 
have  a  horse  and  go  with  me  to  his  step- 
mother^ Mrs.  Vinsant.  We  reached 
Mrs,  Vinsant's  about  noon,  finding  all 
well  except  father  who  was  still  feeble. 

Late  that  evening  Jim,  Buck  and  Tom 
Vinsant,  George  Foster  and  Jim  Hill 
drove  up  with  tv,^o  wagons,  some  negroes 
and  a  lot  of  stock.  They  were  taking 
them  south,  out  of  danger  and  father 
said  I  must  go  and  take  ours. 

The  Arkansas  river  was  to  cross,  the 
waters  high,  no  ferry-boat  and  as  cold 
as — blazes. 

We  made  a  raft  and  floated  most  of  the 
things  over  and  swam  the  stock  across. 
After  a  great  deal  of  patience  and  hard 
work,  we  got  everything  over  safe  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river 

We  then  started  south  with  two  wag- 
ons and  teams,  the  wagons  well  loaded, 
}]u<\  .i/^on_t  65   head   of  stock,  mostly 
:  >nr  s  \  r^iMi:4^  horses  and  mules.    I  rode 
I>ri'  r\\-  vol uia  mare.      Our  comoanv 


81 


consisted  of  the  following  persons:  Jim,. 
Buck  and  Tom  Vinsant,  George  Foster, 
Jim  Hill,  father  and  myself:   also  two 
negro  teamsters.     John  Vinsant  went 
back  home. 

The  first  night  out  it  turned  warmer 
and  began  torain^  and  it  rained  a  slow, 
drizzliiig  rain  for  two  or  three  days,  but 
ye  tept  traveling  on ;  bogging  down  and 
,  trying  out. 

We  went  as  far  south  as  Waldron,  in* 
sott  county,    Arkansas,;    then  turned 
iown  the  .Fourche  la  Favre  river. 
.  After  going  about  20  miles  in  this  di- 
-ction  we  called  a  halt  late  one  evening 
at^  a  house,  and  got  permission  to  stop 
for  the  night,  in  fact  the  good  people 
turned  over  a  room  to  us. 

Presently  in  came  two  long,  lank,  lan- 
tern-jawed, taller-faced  fellows;  dressed 
in  copersy  pants,  red  russett  shoes  and 
round-a-bouts.  Each  had  on  a  coon- 
skin  cap,  the  tail  of  .the  coon  hanging 
down  their  backs,  and  the  skin  of*  the 
coons  head  answering  for  a  rim  to  the 
cap. 

These  fellows  kept  coming  in  one  or 
two  at  a.  time  until  there  were  about  a  ' 


82 


WAR  bKETOHEte, 


dozen  of  theiii,  all  dressed  alike,  coon- 
skin  Gap  and  all.  -By  this  time  we  had 
become  alarmed,  so  we  all  went  out  to 
the  lot  as  if  to  see  aboat  oar  stock,  and 
while  out  we  all  uncapped  our  pistols, 
picked  powder  in  the  tubes  and  put  on 
fresh  caps.  We  then  went  back  to  the 
house  only  to  find  the  number  of  men 
doubled,  and  quite  as  many  women  col- 
lected at  the  house.  We  were  very  badly 
scared  now,  but  about  this  time  a  young 
woman  came  to  the  door  of  our  room 
and  said: 

''You his  needent  ter  be  askeerd,  ca'se 
we^uns  is  goin'  to  have  a  frolic.'' 

And  they  did.  In  came  a  woman 
dressed  in  home-made  copersy,  red  rus- 
sett  shoes  and  trimmings.  She  held  in 
her  hand  an  old  clap-trap  of  a  fiddle 
with  three  strings  and  a  bow  with  about 
three  horse  hairs  in  it.  She  took  a  seat 
in  a  corner  and  beg^n  tuning.  Presently 
she  struck  out  on  a  -  tune  called  ^'Rye 
Straw''  and  cried  out: 

''Qityer  pardners,"  and  this  being 
quickly  done,  she  called  -out:  ''Every 
xelior  to  his  punchin." 

That  "frolic"™!  cannot  describe  it. — 


WAK  SKETCHES, 


83 


still  makes  me  weary  to  think  of  it. 
They  soon  asked  us  to  take  part  with 
them,  which  was  accepted  by  some  of 
the  boys,  and  the  dance  and  ^Rye  Straw' 
was  kept  up  until  daylight. 

I  think  this  was  about  February  10, 
or  12,  1863.  Next  morning  we  rented  a 
house  and  pasture,  bought  corn  and 
moved  to  our  new  quarters.  We  had  not 
been  here  long  when  Marion's  mare  got 
crippled  so  ba,dly  that  she  was  unfit  for 
use,  and  this  left  me  afoot  again. 

About  this  time  Buck  Vinsant  and 
Jim  Hill  left  us  to  rejoin  their  command 
which  was  in  Louisiana  at  this  time. 
I  AH  went  well  until  about  February  25, 
when  to  our  surprise,  John  Vinsant  rode 
up  on  a  pony  little  larger  than  a  New- 
foundland dog.  He  told  a  terrible  story 
of  how"  these  robbers  who  called  them- 
selves ^'malitia,"  and  the  Pin  Indians 
were  robbing  women  and  children,  and 
how  brutal  they  were. 

Tom  Vinsant  and  I  determined  to  go 
to  the  aid  of  our  people,  and  we  were 
soon  ready  for  the  journey.  Father  did 
not  want  me  to  go,  for  he  said  if  I  went 
I  would  never  see  him  again.  Soon  after 


84 


WAK  •  BKETCHEfe. 


breakfast  we  had  John's  dog  pony  pack- 
ed and  when  all  was  ready  to  go  father 
began  to  cry  and  beg  me  not  to  leave 
him.  •  Jim  Vinsant  assured  him  that  he 
would  be  taken  care  of,  but  this  did  not 
satisfy  him  and  he  followed  us  half  a 
mile  begging  me  not  to  go;  but  I  told 
him  I  must  go  and  take  ca]*e  of  mother 
and  the""  children. 

He  bid  me  good-bye  and  said;  'VMy 
son  J  you  will  never  see  me  again.''  I 
thought  he  feared  for  my  life/ having  no 
idea  he  was  alluding  to  his  own  death. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

We  traveled  on  all  day  and  the  shades 
>i  evennig  were  coming  on  when,  foot- 
sore and  weary,  we  drove  some  distance 
off^the   road  and  camped   in  •  a  deep, 
hollow.    Next  morning  about  10  o'clock 
we  passed  through  the  village  of  Jenny 
l-md,  and  when  we  came  in  sight  we 
saw  no  less  that  75  or  100  men.  We 
could  not  tell  which  side  thoy  belongecf 
to.   The  boys  proposed  for  us  to  run,  but 
I^said  this  would  not  do.     So  we  went 
ahead,  passing  through  without  speaking 
to  them  or  they  to  us,  and  on  we  went 
unmolested. 

We  reached  the  Arkansas  river  about 
■sundown,  and  got  Mr.  Campbell  to  set 
us  across.  On  arriving  at  Mrs.  Vinsant's 
■she  told  us  that  my  mother  had  moved 
to  John  Vinsanfs.  i^ie  also  told  me 
that  the  malitia  and  Pin  Indians  went 
to  my  mother's  house  and  robbed  her  of 
everything  they  could  find,  taking  all 


86 


WAK  SKETCHES. 


tiia  obtLiiag  aiii  baiolothes  they  could 
get.  They  emptied  eight  feather 
beds  in  the  house  and  yard  and  took 
the  ticks.  They  went  to  where  nother 
had  buried  her  kitchen  an  1  table  articles 
dug  them  up  and  carried  them  away. 
They  killed  all  the  fawls  and  hogs  that 
were  fat  enough  to  eat,  t  )ok  the  n  to 
iiain water's  and  had  the  n  served  up  in 
a  style  best  known  to  themselves. 

During  the  robbery  one  of  these  fel- 
lows found  a,  piece  of  jeans  belonging  to 
my  mother,  and  she  prevailed  on  him 
to  divide  with  her;  so  they  cut  it  in  two 
pieces.  .\Iother  rolled  up  her  part,  and 
to  protect  it,  ^as  holding  it  under  her 
right  arin,  when  two  of  the  villians  came 
up  behind  her  and  one  of  them  took 
hold  of  the  roll  and  gave  it  a  pull  which 
turned  i^er  partly  around  and  the  other 
struck  her  over  the  right  eye  with  his 
pistol.  kn'.)cking  her  senseless,  cut- 
ting a  fearful  gash. 

/Vfter  recovering  from  the  blow,  to 
save  what  she  could,  mother  had  moved 
from  home  to  become  a  wanderer. 

Next,  moriuug  John  and  I  took  the 
Van  Buren  road  af)ot.      After  walking 


WAR  SKETCHES, 


87 


two  or  three  miles  we  met  Will  Howell, 
a  lad  of  a  boy,  in  front  of  a  housa.  Here 
we  stopped  and  Will  was  telling  us  the 
news,  when  suddenly  the  house  door 
partly  opened  and  then  closed  with  a 
loud  noise  that  attracted  our  attention. 
Every  little  bit  the  door  would  open 
slightly,  then  close  with  a  bang.  This 
jnade  us  uneasy,  so  we  took  a  by-path 
leading  through  the  bottom. 

We  had  traveled  about  a  mile  when 
we  heard  a  noise  behind  us.  There  be- 
ing switch  cane  on  all  sides,  it  was  an 
easy  matter  for  us  to  hide,  which  we  did 
at  once.  Here  came  12  or  15  of  the  fel- 
lows I  had  contended  with  on  Lees  creek 
and  who  had  helped  to  rob  and  abuse 
my  mother  and  sisters. 

We  gave  them  a  salute  which,  I  think, 
converted  two  of  them.  Here  I  filed 
notch  number  six  on  the  barrel  of  my 
pistol. 

We  then  made  our  way  through  the 
cane,  and  keeping  shy  of  all  roads, 
reached  home  about  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon.  We  stayed  at  home  two 
days  arranging  things  and  hiding  trunks 
etc.,  in  a  cave,  east  of  Cedar  creek,  on  a 


WAR  HKKTOHKS* 


steep  inoiititaiii  side.  On  the  evening 
of  the  second  day  Tom  Vinsant  arrived, 
and  next  morning  he  and  1  set  ont  to 
find  Captain  Beal  and  Frank  Whitt^head 
who,  we  learned ,  were  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. Tom  had  secured  a  horse  hnt  I 
had  to  go  afoot. 

We  went  to  the  old  man  Whitehead, 
about  four  or  five  miles  distant.  The 
old  man  was  palsied  so  that  he  had  to  be 
wheeled  about  in  a  chair  prepared  for 
that  purpose.  It  took  us  some  time  to 
convince  the  old  man  that  we  were  all 
right,  but  finally  he  told  us  to  go  out 
back  of  the  orchard  and  wait,  and  Iv,' 
would  see  if  the  boys  were  in  the 
country.  A.fter  getting  back  of  the  or- 
chard, a  little  girl  passed  out  near  us 
and  disappeared  through  the  bru^^h. 

As  yet  there  were  no  leaves  on  the 
timber,  it  being  early  in  March,  and  tln^ 
worst  thickets  seemed  terribly  t>]^-i-n 
us.    Finally  someone  gave  a  ketMi  w 
tie  near  us,  then  another  on  tln^  i'; 
side.      Then  they  wiiisthMl  <m  al!  si-ir*  ^ 
but  we  could  see  nobody.  The  whistliii 
came  nearer  and  nearer,  and  soon  !  saw 
the  side  of  n   face  pterin u'  out  from  bo- 


WAR  SKETCHES  89 

hind  a  tree.    I  could  stand  it  no  longer, 
so  I  called  out  to  know  who  it  was.  In 
reply  he  said:    ''Eli  Oliver.    Who  are 
ijou?- 

H  1  answered  ''Bill  Black  and  Tom  Vin- 
sant."  "One  of  you  come  out  and  meet 
me/'  he  said.  I  met  him  and  then,  at 
a  signal,  15  men  came  forward,  and  such 
a  hand-shaking  as  we  did  have! 

"Get  your  horses,''  said  Capt.  Beal. 
Tom  got  his  horse  and  went  with  Rich 
Oliver,  and  I,  being  afoot,  went  with  the 
others  who  piloted  us  to  their  rendez- 
vous. 

This  rendezvous  was  some  six  or  seven 
miles  southeast  of  Natural  Dam  on 
Cedar  creek.  It  was  an  almost  impreg- 
nable fortress  of  solid  stone,  back  of 
which  was  a  cave  of  large  dimensions, 
which  contained  the  bed-clothes,  not 
only  of  the  boys,  but  many  citizens  had 
brought  their  household  effects  there  for 
safety. 

Besides  these,  it  contained  forage  for 
the  horses;  corn,  oats  and  fodder;  be- 
sides bacon,  lard,  flour,  meal  and  other 
articles  of  food. 

Soon  after  our  arrival  here,  and  after 


90  WAK  SKETCHES^ 


partaking  of  a  hasty  but  hearty  dinnei^,  ff£ 
we  buckled  on  our  arms  and  started  on  a^a 
raid  into  Washington  county,  in  search  ,i 
of  Tom  Wilhite  and  his  band  of  rene-  ^ 
gades,  who  at  this  time  was  a  veritable  ' 
terror  to  the  Southern  people,  and  (iidi:;8 
not  even  hesitate  to  make  his  ostensiblfnil 
friends  victims  of  liis  rapacious  greed,  if  g 
occasion  demanded. 

We  left  our  rendezvous  about  3,  p.-  m. 
and  after  traveling  all  night,  and  learn- 
ing  with  absolute  certainty  the  exact  ^ 
location  and  disposition  of  the  opposing  , 
forces,  we  quietly  crawled  up  to  within  a  / 
short  distance  of  their  camp.  Some 
were    sleeping,    others    chatting    and  r 
smoking,  and  yet  others  playing  cards.  , 

Just  aftar  daylight  we  made  a  furious 
and  determined  attack,  taking  them 
wholly  by  surprise.  The  wildest  disor- 
der ensued,  and  they  ran  in  every  direc- . 
tiori  like  stampeded  stock.  We  were 
soon  among  them,  dealing  death  from, 
the  ever  ready  six-shooter.  I  filed 
notches  number  seven  and  eight  on  my 
revolver. 

This  attack  virtually  broke  up  this 
gang  of  terrors,  they  were  so  thoroughly 


WAB  SKETCHED 


Bcattered  and  frightened,  and  that,  too, 
in  their  fancied  stronghold^  that  they 
were  never  again  reorganized;  although 
it  was  attempted,  as  will  soon  be  related. 

We  captured  all  their  stock,  and  on 
our  return  to  camp,  the  horses  were  put 
up  and  sold  at  auction,  one  of  which  I 
bought,  and  was  thus  remounted. 


92 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  XIL 

After  resting  for  a  day  or  two  we  con- 
cluded to  scoiit  in  the  vicinity  of  Van 
Buren  and  Ft.  Smith.  We  were  soon 
on  the  way,  and  after  passing  Dripping 
Sdrings  we  met  Gapt.  Mose  Edwards,  a 
Cherokee,  and  his  company.  Captain 
Edwards  said  he  wanted  us  to  go  with 
him  on  a  raid  against  the  Pin  Indians, 
and  gave  as  his  reason  that  either  com- 
pany alone  would  be  unable  to  combat 
them.  To  this  we  agreed,  and  changing 
our  course,  we  went  into  the  Cherokee 
Nation. 

We  moved  cautiously  and  slowly  until 
within  a  short  distance  of  their  camp,. 
when  we  charged  them;  killing  15  and 
completely  routing  the  balance.  This 
took  place  near  the  old  Mission.  Here  I 
filed  notch  number  nine.  We  then  fell 
back  to  camp. 

We  soon  heard  that  Tom  Wilhite  was 
back  in  his  old  haunts  trying  to  recruit 


WAR  SKETCHES,  93 


and  gather  his  old  company.  We  left 
camp  just  after  dark  and  traveled  all 
night  reaching  Andy  Sharp's  house  just 
before  da3dight.  FaiUng  to  get  any  in- 
formation we  went  through  the  woods  to 
old  man  Wilhite's,  stopping  a  short  dis- 
tance from  the  house  to  consult  as  to  our 
best  course  to  proceed. 

The  boys  had  all  dismounted  and 
were  holding  their  horses  when  suddenly 
Tom  Wilhite  rode  out  of  the  brush  into 
the  rood,  and  before  anyone  had  time  to 
think,  Frank  Whitehead  whipped  down 
ihis  old  rifle  and  fired.  At  the  crack  of 
the  gun,  Wilhite  jumped  over  his  hojse's 
head,  then  ran  and  jumped  the  fence  in- 
to his  father's  field.  About  a  dozen  of 
the  boys  ran  after  him,  all  scaling  the 
fence  except  Eli  Oliver,  who  stopped  and 
laid  his  pistol  on  the  fence  and  fired. 
At  the  crack  of  the  pistol  Wilhite  careen- 
-ed  to  one  side  and  slowed  his  pace.  Bill 
Sharp  caught  up  with  him  by  the  time 
he  reached  the  middle  of  the  field,  and 
ordered  him  to  halt,  drop  his  pistols 
und  throw  up  his  hands.  Wilhite  stop- 
ped, turned  round  and  answered  that  he 
was  a  gentleman,  raising  both  hands  a 


94 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


little.  Sharp  repeated  his  order  and 
Wilhite  gave  the  same  reply,  so  Sharp 
told  him  if  he  did  iiot  drop  his  pistols  he 
would  shoot  him.  Wilhite  made  the 
same  reply  as  before  still  slightly  raising 
his  hand.  Then  Sharp  shot  him  be- 
tween the  eyes.  Thus  ended  this  gang 
of  terrors. 

On  our  return,  by  a  misuaderstanding 
we  got  separated,  and  about  14  of  us 
concluded  to  go  back  b}^  the  way  of  Ev- 
ans vilie.  About  7  or  8  miles  west  of 
Cane  Hill  we  met  Capt.  Shannon,  my 
cousin,  who  told  us  that  about  40  Pin 
Indians  and  their  squaws  were  robbing 
houses  about  a  mile  from  us.  After  some 
parleying  we  concluded  to  break  them 
up  in  their  business. 

We  approached  the  house  cautiously 
until  within  100  yards  of  them.  They 
had  not  yet  discovered  us,  being  so  busy 
carrying  out  bacon  and  household  goods 
and  tying  them  to  their  saddles.  With 
a  yell  we  charged  into  their  midst,  shoot- 
ing them  right  and  left.  They  did  not 
show  but  little  resistance,  but  mounted^ 
their  ponies  and  fled,  cutting  their  booty 
loose  as  they  run.    We  pursuaded  13  of 


WAK  SKETCHES, 


95 


them  to  quit  robbing.  Here  I  filed  notch 
number  ten.  After  we  had  had  things 
our  own  way  for  about  a  mile  these  In- 
dians turned  the  corner  of  a  fence  and 
fell  oif  of  their  ponies  like  they  had  been 
shot.  They  then  poked  their  old  squir- 
rel rifles  through  the  cracks  of  the  fence 
and  began  to  pop  at  us.  It  was  uoav  ev- 
ident that  our  time  had  come  to  ^^git  up 
and  git;"  and  we  got. 

Most  of  our  boys  were  riding  mules 
and  they  were  nearly  ^ ^fagged  out." 
When  we  saw  that  matters  had  taken 
such  a  peculiar  turn  and  so  decidedly 
ugainst  us,  too,  we  hastily  concluded 
that 

*'He  who  tights  and  runs  away, 
IVfay  live  to  tight  another  day,'' 

and  we  endeavored  to  leave  the  late  pur- 
sued in  the  rear,  as  they  became  the 
pursuers,  Our  mules  concluded  they 
had  gone  far  enough,  and  one  after  an- 
other seemed  to  become  imbued  with  the 
idea  that  he  would  rather  be  captured 
by  Pin  Indians  than  riden  by  retreating 
rebels. 

'  With  the  proverbial  obstinacy  of  these 
creatures,  one  after  another  would  sud- 


96 


WAR  SKETCHES, 


deuly  stop,  his  rider  would  hastily  slip 
from  the  saddle  and  seek  cover  in  the 
dense  undergrowth  at  the  roadside. 

The  chase  had  lasted  for  perhaps  a 
mile  when  suddenly  the  horse  Rich  Oli- 
ver was  riding,  .  tumbled  over  pinning 
Oliver  down  by  a  leg.  I  quickly  wheel- 
ed my  horse  so  as  to  keep  the  Pins  at 
bay  until  the  prisoner  could  extricate 
himself  from  his  perilous  situation,  when 
the  noble  animal  I  bestrode  rereived  a 
ball  from  the  gun  of  a  pursuer,  and  fell 
dead  in  his  tracks.  Oliver,  who  had  in 
the  meantime  released  himself,  and  I, 
immediately  took  to  our  heels,  and  did 
not  stop  under  two  miles. 

We  were  some  25  miles  from  our  ren- 
dezvous, but  wearily  we  made  our  way 
thither  on  foot.  That  night  and  next 
day  we  all  succeeded  in  coming  together 
again  at  our  den,  and  compared  notes. 
We  found  that  every  horse  and  mule  had 
been  killed  or  captured  except  the  one 
rode  by  Capt.  Shannon. 

On  aniving  at  our  camp  we  found  a 
number  of  new  recruits,  among  them 
were  Jim  Vinsant  and  George  Foster. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  my  father 


WAE  SKETCHES 


97 


had  been  left  in  the  care  of  the  two  above 
named ^  as  his  health  was  bad.  They 
reported  that  after  I  left  he  had  very 
much  improved  and  that  they  had  left 
their  effects  in  his  care,  and  believed  him 
able  to  take  care  of  himself,  and  that  he 
was  on  the  road  to  permanent  recovery. 

Tjris  was  good  news  to  me  and  I  felt 
as  if  a  great  burden  had  been  lifted  from 
me.  The  state  of  my  father's  health  had. 
all  along  been  the  one  dark  shadow  that 
had  hung  like  a  pall  over  me,  but  /-ow 
that  lie  was  reported  so  vastly  improved 
I  felt  as  light  hearted  as  though  no 
trouble  could  ever  again  cause  the  tear 
of  sorrow  to  rise  to  my  eyes.  But  alas! 
how  deceptive  are  the  human  hearts! 
How^  often  the  rivulets  of  consolation 
that  flow  with  such  seeming  healing,  are 
but  precursory  of  the  burning,  blighting^ 
sorrow  that  is  to  follow.  Like  the  pearly 
dew  diNjp  that  froze  on  coming  in  contact 
with  tlie  icel)erg,  so  did  the  pleasing 
news  of  my  father's  good  health  congeal 
when  touched  by  the  blasting  act  of 
atrocity  and  crime,  that  was  now  related 
jto  me. 

On  the  day  of  our  fight  with  the  Pin 


t  iiiaii.^,  >i;ii  )f  raobBr  \aalitia,  ac- 
CO  npaiiieil  by  a  nuinber  of  the  worse 
Pill  Indians,  uiacle  a  sudea  descent  on 
the  peaceful  home  of  my  mother.  'My 
brother-in-la  v\^,  Harvey  Trower,  captain 
of  a  Oonfederat3  company;  hearing  of 
the  indignities  to  which  a  number  of 
families  had  been  subjected,  had  come 
home  to  see  after  the  fa.nily.  On  the 
morning  following  his  arrival,  the  clatter 
of  horses^  hoofs  rang  out  on  the  still  air 
and  this  band  of  Indians  and  malitia 
were  seen  charging  the  house. 

Trower  made  a  hasty  exit  through  the 
rear  door  and  started  on  a  run  across  a 
large  field.  He  was  soon  espied  and 
pursued  by  the  Pins.  Seeing  the  impos- 
sibility of  escape,  he  stopped  and  started 
l^ack  to  meet  his  pursuers,  who  at  once 
surrounded  him,  with  fiendish  cries  of 
savage  delight  which  can  be  uttered 
alone  by  them.  Trower  gave  a  masonic 
signal  which  was  responded  to  by  one  of 
the  Pins,  who  ordered  the  others  to  de- 
sist from  their  murderous  iiitentions. 

They  then  returned  to  the  house,  but 
the  act  of  mercy  just  done  did  not  com- 
pensate for  the  hideous  atrocities  com- 


WAR  SKETCH Ei=, 


99 


laittecl  on  the  defenseless  women  of  that 
household,  and  the  white  men  seemed  to 
vie  with  and  even  outstrip  the  Indians 
in  their  acts  of  wickedness  and  diabol- 
ism. 

My  eldest  sister,  Trower's  wife,  had  a 
quilt  of  which  she  was  very  proud.  One 
burly  ru  fian  decided  to  possess  the  ar- 
ticle, but  my  sister  vigorously  disputed 
his  right  to  take  it.  She  resisted  with 
all  her  power  and  the  fellow  hadn't  suf- 
ficient strength  to  take  it  by  brute  force. 
I  Chagrined  by  his  disappointment,  he 
'  seized  a  shot  p:un  and  aimed  both  barrels 
at  the  woma^i's  breast;  but  some  of  the 
gang  standing  near,  struck  the  gun  up 
just  as  it  exploded,  saving  her  life. 
However,  the  charge  cut  a  lock  of  hair 
from  her  head. 

My  younger  sister  had  her  rings  on  her 
fingers  and  her  ear-rings  in  her  ears, 
thinking  this  the  safest  place  for  these 
valued  trinkets.  One  of  the  gang,  with 
more  savagery  than  manhood,  clasped 
her  in  his  iron  grasp,  choked  her  to  in- 
sensibility and  with  his  teeth  stripped 
the  rings  from  her  fingers.  Then  seizing 
the  ear-rings  he  tore  them  from  their 


100 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


place  in  her  ears*  After  glutting  their 
savage  vengeance,  and  stripping  the 
house  of  all  its  belongings,  they  took 
their  departure. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  recital  of  this 
story  aroused  in  me  all  the  hatred  of 
which  1  was  possjessed?  Do  you  censure 
me  for  desiring  to  be  revenged  on  the 
perpetrators  of  these  dastardly  erinu-s? 
Is  it  a  wonder,  then,  that  the  slumbering 
fires  of  sectional  animosity  had  burst 
forth  with  the  fury  of  personal  enmity? 
Who  can  blame  if  I  took  a  solemn  oat^ 
to  never  rest  satisfied  until  these  fiends 
had  received  such  punishment  as  the 
blackness  of  their  crimes^  so  justly 
merited. 


I 
i 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


101 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

With  a  heavy  heart  I  immediately 
repaired  to  my  mother's  house,  attended 
by  Captain  Beal  and  his  company.  We 
iecided  that  the  best  thing  for  the  fam- 
ily to  do  under  the  circumstances  would 
be  to  get  out  of  the  neighborhood  at 
once.  We  secured  transportation,  and 
I  accompauied  mother  on  a  southern  ex- 
odus; while  the  company  returned  to 
camp . 

On  arriving  at  Van  Buren  I  met  Mr, 
Jesse  Turner,  whom  I  had  known  from 
childhood,  and  always  regarded  as  my 
friend;  and  asked  permission  to  occupy 
one  of  his  numerous  vacant  houses  for 
the  night.  In  gruff  tones  he  told  me  he 
did  not  allow  such  unprincipled  scoun- 
drels as  I  to  occupy  his  houses. 

This  rebuke,  stinging  as  it  was,  would 
have  passed  unheeded  by  me,  had  I  been 
seeking  shelter  for  myself  alone,  but  it 
was  for  ni}^  homeless  mother  and  sisters 


101  WAE  SKETCHES. 

that  I  sought  the  comforts  of  a  roof,  and' 
his  unfriendly,  inhuman  repulse  sent  the 
hot  blood  surging  in  fury  through  my 
brain,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  inter- 
position and  pleadings  of  my  mother, 
this  unfeeling  man  would  not  be  enjoy- 
ing the  comforts  of  life  today. 

Disappointed  and  discouraged  we 
crossed  the  river  at  Van  Buren  and  soon 
reached  the  east  edge  of  Mazzard  prairie, 
in  Sebastian  county,  at  a  point  known 
as  the  May  place. 

Here  we  found  a'  house  occupied  by  a 
German  family,  and  took  possession  at 
once  by  buying  their  right  of  occupancy. 

After  seeing  them  as  comfortably  situ- 
ated as  possible  I  set  out  on  my  return 
to  the  rendezvous,  and  reached^  there 
without  any  serious  mishap  occurring. 

Next  morning  after  my  arrival  in  camp 
the  boys  were  thrown  into  a  state  of 
wihlest  excitement  by  the  appearance  of 
a  scout  who  reported  a  regiment  of  Fed- 
erals not  a  half  mile  distant.  Prepara- 
tions were  at  once  made  for  the  defense 
of  our  fortress,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the 
enemy  came  in  sight,  They  formed  a 
line  of  battle  not  200  yards  from  us,  and 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


102 


after  several  curious  and  mysterious  ma- 
neuvers, left  us  as  quietly  as  they  had 
come.  We  at  once  decided  that  ''Cave 
Camp^'  was  no  longer  tenable^  and  as 
preparations  were  already  in  progress 
for  a  raid  against  the  enemy,  it  was  de- 
cided to  permanently  abandon  the  old 
camp. 

The  malitia  and  Pin  Indians  had 
tal^en  a  position  at  a  stronghold  on 
Mountain  Fork,  and  openly  boasted  that 
they  intended  to  hold  that  creek  against 
ail  comers,  and  it  was  for  the  purpo33  of 
driving  these  marauders  out,  that  this 
raid  was  contemplated. 

We  left  ''Cave  Camp"  after  nightfall 
and  took  to  the  ridge  which  separates 
Cove  Creek  and  Mountain  Fork;  travel- 
ing as  silentl}^  as  possible.  We  rea  died 
the  Boston  mountain,  at  the  head  of 
Mountain  Fork,  before  daylight;  and 
stopped  a  short  while  to  rest  our 
weary  horses. 

Then  came  a  chase  of  about  seven 
miles  in  length  full  of  excitement.  The 
pass  below,  now  strongly  guarded,  was 
supposed  to  be  the  key  to  the  upper  por- 
tion of  the  creek,      If  an  attack  was 


104 


WAE  SKETCHES. 


madBj  it  was  thought  it  would  come  from 
the  direction  of  oar  old  camp,  therefore, 
many  of  the  gang  had  gone  to  their 
homes,  feeling  perfectly  secure.  There- 
fore when  we  charged  down  upon  them 
like  an  avalanche,  dealing  death  and 
destruction  on  every  side,  they  were 
taken  wholly  by  surprise.  It  was  a  ver- 
itable running  fight.  At  every  house 
we  found  from  one  to  six  men,  and  the 
deadly  revolver  did  fearful  execution. 

Down  the  creek  we  went  at  breakneck 
speed,  making  a  mighty  effort  to  reach 
and  surprise  the  guarded  pass  before 
news  of  our  presence  could  be  borne  to 
them.  We  were  successful.  When  we 
dashed  in  among  them  they  ran  like 
sheep,  seemingly  utterly  demoralized. 

We  did  not  lose  a  man  in  this  raid, 

but  the   enemv   lost  14  in  killed  and 
t/ 

about  the  same  in  prisoners,    besides  a  ' 
number  wounded.    I  filed  notches  num- 
ber eleven  and  twelve. 

This  raid  effectualiv  drove  them  from 
«/ 

this  part  of  the  country,  and  broke  up 
the  gang  for  the  time  being.  After  hav- 
ing done  them  all  the  mischief  in  our 
power,  we  fell  back  to  the  vicinity  of 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


Beaver  Pond,  near  Cove  City,  and  piteli- 
edcamp. 

Here  we  had  a  good  long  rest.  Our 
camp  life  at  '^Camp  Beaver  Pond"  was 
not  without  incidents  of  a  character  to 
afford  amusement  and  diversion.  The 
peculiar  witticisms,  the  ludicrous  songs, 
the  grotesque,  assumed  fear  of  a  few, 
and  the  pleasant  badinage  of  others; 
kept  the  camp  in  a  hilarious  state  at  all 
times. 

Soon  after  taking  up  our  camp  here,  it 
was  announced  that  a  wedding  was  soon 
to  take  place,  and  that  the  contracting 
parties  were  Eh  Ohver,  of  the  company, 
and  Miss  Med  Snider,  an  estimable 
young  lady  of  the  neighborhood. 

Such  was  the  interest  in  the  coming 
nuptials  that  Capt.  Beal  drew  his  men 
in  line  and  requested  the  attendance  of 
every  one.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
I  have  already  related  that  Jess  Morton 
and  others  of  his  gang  were  slyly  staying 
about  his  father's  home,  and  the  wed- 
ding was  to  take  place  not  more  than 
three  miles  from  his  house.  I  conceived 
it  to  be  a  veritable  deathtrap,  as  a  dance 
was  to  be  given  after  the  ceremony,  and 


106 


WAK  SKETCHES. 


the  boys  would  be  given  ove]*  to  revelry 
instead  of  guarding  against  surprise. 

Consequently  I  refused  to  go.  Again 
I  was  ordered  to  go,  and  again  I  refused. 
I  rode  out  of  line  and  called  on  all  who 
did  not  intend  going,  to  come  with  me. 
one  man,  Tom.Vinsant,  responded,  and 
we  rode  away. 

To  show  how  well  my  fears  were 
founded,  I  will  relate  the  circumstances 
which  followed.  The  marriage  was  duly 
solemnized,  with  the  company  in  attend- 
ance. '^Then  there  came  a  sound  of 
revelry  by  night"  and  the  boys  gave 
themselves  up  to  pleasure.  Suddenly 
the  sharp  crack  of  the  rifle  and  the  ping 
ping  of  bullets  were  heard,  and  the  en- 
emy was  among  them.  Taken  wholly 
by  surprise,  the  boys  were  scattered, 
leaving  several  dead  and  wounded.  Not 
a  shot  was  fired  in  return .  It  was  an 
instance  of  utter  route  and  demoraliza- 
tion. Tom  Vinsant  and  1  were  soundly 
asleep  in  our  bed  at  mother's  home 
when  this  occurred. 

After  remaining  here  quietly  resting 
for  a  few  days  we  started  on  our  return 
to  camp.    When  we  reached  Van  Buren 


WAR  SKETCHED. 


we  found  Lieut.  Crawford,  of  Jiiick 
Brown's  battalion,  who  told  us  they 
intended  to  make  a  raid  on  Washington 
and  Benton  counties,  and  wanted  us  to 
pilot  him  through  the  country,  to  which 
we  agreed. 

On  our  way,  near  Dripping  Springs, 
we  met  John  Baker  who  accompanied 
us.  When  we  reached  Sanford  Rain- 
water's, we  stopped  to  forage  and  get 
something  to  eat.  Rainwater  was  put 
under  arrest  to  prevent  his  giving  warn- 
ing to  the  Pin  Indians  and  malitia.  I 
went  into  the  house  and  was  standing 
near  the  door  when  John  Baker  came  in 
and  turned  round  to  take  a  gun  down 
from  over  the  front  door,  Mrs.  Rain- 
water came  in  at  the  back  door  with  an 
axe  in  her  hands.  When  I  looked  again 
she  was  in  the  act  of  strik  ing  Baker  on 
the  head  with  the  axe.  I  quickly  knock- 
ed the  axe  up  with  my  gun  and  stopped 
the  force  of  the  blow,  but  not  enough  to 
prevent  the  axe  from  inflicting  a  serious 
scalp  wound,  which  extended  from  the 
top  of  his  head  to  his  eyebrow.  Baker 
jumped  otit  at  the  door,  pickid  up  his 
gun  and  aimed  to  shoot  the  woman  with 


108 


WAK  SKETCHES. 


both  barrels.  I  knocked/ the  gun  up 
just  as  he  fired,  thus  savmg  her  life. 
He  then  began  to  load  his  gun,  and 
swore  he  would  kill  Rainwater.  I  went 
out  into  the  yard  where  Rainwater  was 
under  guard.  Presently  Baker  came  up 
and  told  Rainwater  that  he  had  come  to 
kill  him.*  I  told  Baker  that  he  should 
not,  that  if  he  killed  Rainwater  I  would 
kill  him..  About  this  time  Baker  fainted 
and  the  doctor  dressed  his  wound. 

Tom  Vinsant  and  I  left  them  here 
and  returned  to  Camp  Beaver  Pond. 


WAE  SKETCHES. 


109 


CiiAPTER  XI  V\ 

The  boys  had  nearly  all  retiijiiocl  after 
the  disastrous  flight  froin  the  deadly 
bullets  of  Jess  Morton's  gang  on  the 
night  of  Eli  Oliver's  wedding,  and  were, 
of  course,  burnin£>^  forreven^>'e.  Accord- 
ingly^  Rich  and  Eh  Oliver  and  mj'self 
planned  a  raid  on  the  home  of  Morton, 
which  was  some  six  or  seven  miles  dis- 
tant, believing  we  could  capture  him. 

We  set  out  at  night  on  foot,  reached 
the  vicinity  of  the  house  and  ensconced 
ourselves  behind  bushes  on  the  hillside 
just  across  the  road,  and  something  like 
150  yards  distant.  Patiently  we  v/aited 
for  some  one  of  the  gang  to  make  his 
appearance.  Morton  had  placed  an  old 
negro  woman  on  picket  duty,  to  guard 
against  surprise.  About  daylight  one 
of  the  boys  began  to  move  about,  and 
was  immediately  discovered  by  the  old 
negress,  who  gave  the  alarm  by  giving 
vent  to  a  sharp  yell. 


110 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


We  charged  the  house,  kiiownig  by 
this  evidently  preconcerted  signal,  that 
Morton  and  perhaps  others  were  in  the 
house.  After  surrounding  the  premises, 
imagine  our  chagrin  to  see  Morton  flying 
across  the  field  at  least  400  yards  away. 

It  being  impossible  to  overtake  him, 
we  gave  it  up  as  an  unsuccessful  attempt 
and  returned  to  camp. 

We  at  once  reported  to  Gapt.  Beal  our 
absence  and  its  object,  and  it  was  imme- 
diately decided  to  make  a  second  raid, 
with  the  Avhole  company,  on  the  second 
night  following  our  attempt.  At  the 
designated  time,  the  company  set  out  on 
foot.  Arriving  at  the  place  we  quietly 
took  positions  along  the  same  hill  on 
which  the  Olivers  and  I  had  liid- 
den.  At  daylight  word  was  passed  along 
that  a  man  was  seen  in  the  house,  and 
the  order  was  given  to  charge. 

Down  the  hil]  we  went  in  a  mad,  wild 
rush,  hoping  to  capture  the  whole  band 
before  they  could  escape.  Again  we 
were  doomed  to  disappointment,  for  the 
house  was  empty.  Just  back  of  the 
house,  about  150  or  200  yards,  Avas  an 
old  slough,  along  the  banks  of  which  was 


IP  WAK  SKETCHES.  Ill 

a  dense  gro^vth  of  underbrush.  Vvliile 
we  were  biting  our  tongues  in  disap- 
pointment, and  consulting  as  to  the  best 
manner  to  proceed  now,  we  heard  the 
sound  of  horses  hoofs,  and  turning  in 
the  direction  of  the  thicket,  beheld  Mor- 
ton and  four  or  five  of  his  companions 
riding  away  at  breakneck  speed. 

Of  course  it  was  useless  to  follow,  and 
for.  the  second  time  he  had  slipped 
through  our  fingers. 

Some  one  now  discovered  the  old  ne- 
gress,  who  had  previously  acted  as  pick- 
et, slowly  approaching  the  house  from 
the  direction  of  a  recently  threshed  strav/ 
stack.  She  had  turned  the  fence  corner 
and  was  nearly  in  our  midst  before  she 
discovered  us. 

With  a  scream  of  alarm  she  turned 
and  fled  in  the  direction  from  which  she 
had  come,  hotly  pursued  by  s'ome  of  the 
boys.  They  drew  their  pistols  and 
threatened  her  with  instant  death  if  she 
made  an  outcry. 

The  straw  stack  was  then  searched, 
and  cosily  reposing  in  its  amber  depths 
was  found  Morton's  brother-in-law.  Bill 
Harness,  and  his  wife.      Harness  was 


112 


WAK  SKETCHES. 


told  that  he  might  have  the  honor  of  ac- 
companymg  us  to  our  camp.  He,  of 
course^  reluctantly  complied,  and  we 
started  on  our  return. 

On  the  road^    Harness  managed  to 
make  his  escape,  but  it  was  reported  la-  i 
ter  that  he  had  been  found  somewhere  ' 
in  the  hills,  looking  at  the  limb  of  a  tree 
up  a  rope^    Whether  this  be  true  or  not ' 
I  cannot  say,  but  I  never  saw  him  after- 
wards. 

After  the  excitement  that  naturally 
followed  this  raid,  Capt.  Beal  decided  it  ' 
best  to  break  camp  for  a  few  days,  so 
that  in  the  event  of  an  attack  on  us,  we 
would  be  absent  when  the  party  reached 
our  camp.  i 

About  this  time  the  company  under 
command  of  Jake  Yoes  and  Johnson  was 
creating  havoc  and  consternation  among  k 
the  Southern  families  of  Washington 
county,  therefore  we  determined  to  sur-l 
prise  them  and  demolish  their  organiza- 
tion if  possible. 

Consequently,  we  broke  camp  early 
next  morning,  and  taking  the  VunBuren 
and  Fayetteville  wire  road,  traveled  at 
an  easy  gait  until  we  had  crossed  the 


WAR  SKETCHES.  113 

Boston  mountain,  and  reached  a  place 
sailed  ^'Hog  Eye/'  Here  we  met  a 
w^oman  on  foot,  crying  and  wringing  her 
bands.  On  being  questioned,  she  told 
IIS  that  on  that  very  morning,  Jake  Yoes 
md  Ben  Johnson ^s  company  had  cap- 
tured three  paroled  Confederate  soldiers 
md  shot  them  to  death,  at  no  great  dis- 
tance from  where  we  they  were,  and  that 
ihe  had  just  come  from  where  the  bodies 
ay. 

We  asked  her  to  pilot  us  to  the  spot 
md  she  readily  complied,  and  we  were 
con  where  three  stitfening  corpses  were 
ying,  with  glassy  eves  turned  up  to  the 

A  murmur  of  indignation  ran  through 
his  throng  of  rough,  bearded  men,  at 
his  atrocious  act.    For  command  or  in- 
ependent  company  to  kill  defenseless 
aroled  soldiers,  was  an  act  of  wicked- 
.  ess  for  which  no  punishment  was  too 
.3vere.    We  dug  a  hole  and  rudely  bur- 
3d  the  unmourned  dead,  doubtless  ho- 
pes of  many  bloody  fields. 
[I  During  the  interment,  the  woman  had 
itromised  the  assistance  of  her  daughter 
locating  the  camp  of  these  men's  mur- 


114 


WAK  SKETCHES. 


derers.  We  furnished  her  with  a  horse, 
and  she  set  out  on  her  perilous  journey. 
About  nightfall  she  returned  and  report- 
ed the  enemy  encamped  on  a  small  hill, 
*  near  a  house  about  ten  miles  distant. 

We  at  once  started  for  their  camp, 
riding  cautiously  to  prevent  warning 
them.  We  halted  within  a  half  mile  of 
their  camp,  and  sent  out  a  number  of 
scouts  to  report  their  exact  location. 

About  daylight  a  courier  came  in  and 
announced  that  the  enemy  had  already 
begun  to  stir,  and  that  they  w^ere  con- 
gregating at  the  house  for  breakfast. 

A  small  clump  of  trees  and  bushes 
stood  about  100  yards  in  front  of  the 
house,  and  we  rode  up  to  this  very  slow- 

ly- 

The  enemy,  wholly  unaware  of  danger 
lurking  near,  were  chatting,  laughing, 
joking,  some  eating,  some  washing  for 
breakfast  while  others  were  idly  loitering 
about  the  premises. 

The  house  w^as  situated  in  a  yard  of 
good  dimensions,  back  of  which  was  a 
plum  orchard,  and  to  the  left  of  the  or- 
chard was  a  field.  Surveying  the  situa- 
tion for  a  moment;  we  charged  at  full 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


115 


speed,  uttering  the  unearthly  ^'Kebel 
Yell."  Taken  wholly  by  surprise,  they 
seemed  rooted  to  the  spot  until  we  were 
right  among  them  dealing  death  on 
every  hand.  It  was  then  they  sought 
cover  in  the  orchard,  hotly  pursued  by 
our  boys. 

Seeing  a  single  individual  diverge 
to  the  left  and  start  for  the  field,  I  put 
spurs  and  followed  him.  Eli  Oliver 
rushed  up  to  the  fence  on  foot,  leveled 
his  pistol  at  the  fleeing  figure  and  fired, 
at  the  report  the  fugitive  careened,  but 
kept  on  his  headlong  flight.  My  horse 
had  by  this  time  taken  the  fence  and  I 
was  rushing  upon  the  runner.  I  drew 
my  pistol  and  as  its  report  rang  out  on 
still  morning  air,  he  fell  to  the  ground, 
threw  up  his  hands  and  asked  to  be 
treated  as  a  prisoner  of  war.  '  I  consent- 
to  his  request  just  as  Bill  Sharp  came 
upon  the  scene.   To  the  prisoner  he  said: 

''O,  yes,  Jake  Yoes,  I  have  you  now 
and  I'm  going  to  kill  you." 

r  told  him  he  should  not  harm  the 
prisoner,  as  I  had  promised  him  my  pro- 
tection. 

'^I'll  kill  him  or  die,"  replied  Sharp. 


116 


•WAR  SKETCHES. 


« 

*^You  will  surely  die  then/'  I  said* 
^^for  I'll  kill  you  the  moment  you  at- 
tempt to  harm  him/' 

Sharp  then  desisted^  and  Yoes  was 
carried  to  the  place  we  were  to  rendez- 
vous, by  Eli  Oliver. 

The  boys  pursued  the  fleeing  enemy 
for  several  miles ,  completely  demoraliz- 
ing them.  Some  8  or  10  of  the  enemy 
were  killed  and  a  number  wounded, 
while  we  did  not  lose  a  man. 

Our  company  returned  to  ^^Camp  Bea- 
ver Pond/'  and  I  visited  my  mother  at 
the  May  place  on  Mazzard  Prairie. 

Here  I  found  Gen.  Cabel  encamped 
with  his  entire  force  of  Confederates. 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


117 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Just  before  my  mother  moved  from 
Lees  Creek,  she  had  secreted  a  pot  of 
gold  in  the  well.  After  my  retm^n  home 
she  begged  me  to  return  and  get  the 
money. 

I  went  to  Gen,  Cabel  and  asked  for  a 
scout  to  go  with  me.  He  gave  me  about 
75  men,  and  we  at  once  started  on  our 
mission. 

We  arrived  at  the  old  home  without 
mishap,  bailed  the  well  as  near  dry  as 
we  could,  dropped  a  ladder  down  and  I 
descended  into  the  well.  The  water  was 
then  waist  deep  and  I  had  to  dive  to  get 
the  precious  pot  containing  the  gold. 

At  last,  after  much  effort,  I  secured 
the  treasure  and  returned  to  mother 
without  any  other  adventure  worthy  of 
record. 

In  the  meantime  Capt.  Beal  Jiad  turn- 
ed the  prisoner,  Jake  Yoes,  over  to  Gen. 
Steele  at  Fort  Smith,  who  sent  him  to 


llH 


Little  Rock  J  to  Gen.  Holmes.  I  then 
went  to  Fort  Smith  where  I  met  Eli  and 
Rich  Oliver,  Bill  and  Andy  Sharp,  John 
and  Abb  Bealh  Jack  Shannon,  Henry 
Hood  and  two  Ghoat  brothers;^  the  last 
three  mentioned  being  Cherokees. 

They  told  us "  that  Gen.  Ganoe  had 
gone  to  Cabin  Creek,  I.  T.,  to  attack  the 
Federals  at  *that  place,  and  that  they 
were  going  to  rejoin,. him  near  Fort  Gib- 
son. We  soon  made  np  our  minds  to  go 
wuth  them.  •  V/e  started  at  once,  going 
up  the  Arkansas  river. 

As  we  crossed  Sallisaw  creek  the  first 
thing  we  knew,  the  pop  of  the  old  squir- 
rel rifle  and  the  whiz  of  bullets  around 
us,  warned  us  that  the  Pin  Indians  were 
close  by.     ^  ''^ 

Well,  we  did  not  knock  the  bottom  out 
of  the  creek,  but  we  made  the  water  fly 
terribly.  Fortunately  v/e  made  our  es- 
cape unharmed,  but  this  put  us  on  our 
guard. 

As  we  went  down  the  Greenleaf 
mountain  we  suddenly  met  10  or  12  Pin 
Indians.  We  made  a  dash  at  them,  fir- 
ing as  we  went.  We  killed  tw^o  the  first 
fire,      I  think  we  cliased  them  a  mile, 


killliis:  six  in  all.      I  filed  notch  number 

thirteeii. 

We  then  proceeded  on  our  way,  cross- 
ing Grand  river  and  traveling  in  a  north 
west  direction,  we  struck  the  trail  of 
Gen.  Ganoe  near  where  the  tovm  of 
Wagoner  now  stands,  and  overtook  them 
in  camp  near  Vinita. 

Next  morning  we  moved  on  ancl  struck 
the  enemy  about  1  o'clock.  They  were 
located  on  Big  Cabin  creek,  and  seemed 
to  think  their  position  an  iuipregnable 
one.  They  were  ensconsed,  behind  a, 
breastwork  of  baled  hay  and  logs,  and 
on  our  approach.  ie  out 

to  demolish  us. 

But  we  did  not  demolish,  as  they  an- 
ticipated. Instead,  however,  we  met 
their  charge  with  a  vim  that  took  them 
by  surprise;  as  they  evidently  thought 
lis  only  a  stragling  party.  After  repuls- 
ing their  charge,  we  rushed  on  them  and 
drove  ourselves  completely  through  the 
enemy.  We  reformed  between  them 
and  their  breastworks  and  recharged  the 
now  demoralized  cavalry,  slaying  with- 
out mercy.  Many  threw  down  their 
arms  and  asked  for  .quarter,  while  a  few 


120 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


made  good  their  escape.  The  reserve 
force,  seemg  the  demolition  of  the  cav- 
alry and  realizing  their  inability  to  cope 
with  us  J  surrendered;  only  a  few  making 
their  escape. 

For  the  two  hours  or  more  that  this 
battle  raged,  it  was  undoubtedly  the 
hottest  of  the  war  west  of  the  Mississippi 
river. 

After  gathering  their  supplies,  wagons 
and  teams,  we  started  south  and  after  a 
march  of  several  days  reached  Honey 
Springs  in  safety. 

^  Here  our  squad  of  six  left  Gen.  Ganoe 
and  struck  out  for  Arkansas,  reaching 

•  the  May  place  in  safety.  To  my  surprise 
I  found  brother  Marion  at  home.  He 
had  been  wounded  and  discharged  from 

.the  Confederate  service.  Jim  Vinsant, 
Geo.  Foster  and  Marion  started  next 
morning  after  I  arrived,  to  Fourche  la 
Favre  to  see  about  father,  as  they  had 
heard  that  he  was  sick. 

Our  squad  left  after  dinner  and  went 
north  to  the  Arkansas  river  where  the 
hoj^  had  an  old  fiat  boat  which  we  used 
as  a  ferry  boat,  ferrying  ourselves  across 
the  river.     After  crossing  the  river  we 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


121 


traveled  north  so  as  to  strike  Cedar  creek 
thence  up  the  creek  and  luckily  we 
found  our  boys  camped  about  a  mile 
from  our  old  Cave  Camp. 

Next  morning  about  10  o'clock  a  cour- 
ier from  Gen.  Cabel  (Old  Tige)  arrived 
with  orders  for  Capt.  Beall  and  his  com- 
pany to  report  at  once  to  him  at  Van 
Buren.  ^'But/'  said  the  courier,  '^I 
left  Gen.  Cabel  yesterday  morning  at 
Fort  Smith  and  have  been  hunting  you 
ever  since.  I  know,  ^^he  added,"  that 
Gen.  Cabel  left  Van  Buren  this  morning 
taking  the  wire  road  for  Fayetteville.^' 

About  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  we 
set  out  and  foufid  Gen.  CabePs  forces  in 
camp  at  the  forks  of  the  road,  where 
Cove  City  now  stands. 

Just  after  dark  the  orders  came  to  sad- 
dle up  and  fall  into  line.  We  jogged 
along  all  night  and  just  before  daylight 
our  advance  surrounded  and  captured 
their  pickets,  and  by  daylight  was  in 
full  view  of  Fayette ville. 

By  the  time  we  got  within  a  mile  and 
a  half  of  town,  our  men  began  to  yell 
and  kept  it  up  until  the  confines  of  the 
town  were  reached.      Alarmed  by  our 


122 


VVAE  SKETCHES. 


continual  yelling,  the  Federal  forces 
were  enabled  to  go  to  headquarters  and 
draw  arms  and  amunitions,  and  place 
themselves  in  the  most  advantageous 
places  of  defense. 

We  pushed  up  the  hollow  on  the  east 
side  of  town,  and  planted  our  artillery 
on  the  hill  with  two  mounted  companies 
in  the  rear  as  support.  The  remainder 
of  the  cavalry  had  b6en  dismounted  and 
fought  as  infantry.  Federal  sharp-shoot- 
ers had  been  placed  on  the  hill,  oblique- 
ly to  our  right,  and  were  quite  annoying 
at  times. 

Our  heavy  guns  continued  to  play  on 
the  Federal  forces  with  unabating  fury, 
but  from  some  unknowm  cause  General 
Gabel  conceived  the  idea  that  unless  we 
beat  a  hasty  retreat,  absolute  annihila- 
tion stared  us  in  the  face. 

In  accordance  with  this  idea  he  rode 
along  the  line  and  ordered  a  retreat.  But 
the  men  did  not  feel  like  making  a  retro- 
grade movement  when  the  prize  seemed 
in  their  grasp,  and  continued  steadily  to 
advance.  Gen.  Cabel  seemed  to  fly  in  a 
rage;  raved  and  swore  at  his  men.  tell- 
ing them  to  retreat  at  once  or  they  v/oulcL 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


123 


be  surrounded  and  killed  or  captured  in 
five  minutes.  As  the  orders  grew  so 
emphatic  the  men  began  slowly  and  sul- 
lenly to  fall  back.  Crestfallen  and  dis- 
pirited they  reluctantly  left  the  scene  of 
conflict  and  retired  in  the  direction  from 
which  they  had  come. 

We  had  not  retreated  one  hundred 
yards  when  the  enemy  ceased  to  fire  at 
us,  and  we  simply  left  them  in  possession 
of  what  we  could  easily  have  taken. 

Gen.  Cabel  retired  to  his  old  camp  on 
Mazzard  Prairie.  I  again  visited  my 
mother  at  the  May  place.  My  brother 
had  preceded  me  but  a  short  time,  and 
was  at  home  when  I  arrived.  Soon  af- 
ter my  arrival  here,  the  saddest  news  of 
my  life  was  conveyed  to  me — the  news 
of  my  fathers  death. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  he  had 
been  left,  in  charge  of  our  stock,  on  the 
Fourche  la  Favre  river,  and  this  was  the 
first  news  I  had  received  of  him  since 
that  which  was  brought  to  me  at  Cave 
Camp.  Marion  and  George  Vinsant  had 
gone  to  see  about  the  stock,  and  had  re- 
turned with  a  part  of  it. 

Marion  and  I  decided  to  go  back  and 


124 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


secure  the  remainder  of  our  stock,  and, 
if  possible,  learn  more  of  fathers  death. 

Without  trouble  we  secured  the  stock, 
and  without  even  finding  father's  grave 
or  learning  the  slightest  particular  con- 
cerning his  death,  we  returned. 

Learning  of  the  presence  on  Lees 
Creek  of  some  parties  who  were  partic- 
ularly obnoxious  to  us,  and  who  had 
assisted  in  the  dastardly  outrage  on  my 
mother  when  she  was  forced  to  leave  her 
home;  Marion  and  I  decided  to  make  a 
raid  in  that  direction,  and  give  them  a 
taste  of  our  vengeance — teach  them  that 
a  son's  filial  regard  for  his  mother,  is  not 
blunted  or  impaired  by  the  vicissitudes 
of  war. 

Accordingly  we  set  out  on  our  mis- 
sion. We  found  some  of  the  parties  we 
were  seeking,  charged  them  pell  mell  and 
I  suppose,  ran  them  out  of  the  country. 
Here  each  of  usfiled  an  additional  notch. 

Seeing, gv^e  had  roused  the  combined 
forces  of  Fin  Indians  and  worse  ^^bush 
whackers."  we  concluded  that  safety  lay 
in  an  early  retreat. 

At  Van  Buren  we  met  a  scout  of  men 
from  Washington  county,  Harvey  Low 


WAK  SKETCHES. 


125 


acting  as  their  captain.  They  prevailed 
on  me  to  go  with  them  on  their  scout  to 
Cane  Hill. 

r  So  Marion  returned  to  our  home  and 
I  followed  the  scout. 


126 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

We  reached  Sanford  Rainwater's,  on 
Lees  Creekj  about  dark.  The  captam 
concluded  to  forage  and  get  our  suppers 
at  this  house.  So  Rainwater  was  put 
under  arrest,  and  there  being  a  previous 
misun  derstanding  between  Rainwater 
and  myself,  I  did  not  go  into  the  house, 
but  stayed  with  the  horses. 

After  a  few  moments,  some  one  called, 
to  me  to  come  and  get  something  to  eat. 
I  then  want  to  the  edge  of  the  porch  and 
received  a  cup  of  milk  and  a  dodger  of 
bread  from  one  of  the  boys. 

About  this  time  Rainwater's  daughter 
Mary  came  out  and  told  me  that  if  I  did 
not  leave  immediately  I  would  be  kill- 
ed. I  asked  her  who  would  kill  me,  and 
she  said  she  would.  When  I  laughed  at 
the  idea,  she  came  near  me  and  said: 

^^You  know  I  would  not  harm  you, 
but  I  heard  my  father  tell  my  step- 
mother that  if  he  caught  sight  of  you;  he 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


127 


intended  to  kill  you,  and  he  is  carrying 
a  pistol  for  that  purpose/' 

Just  at  this  time  Rainwater  made  his 
appearance  and  said: 

^^What  are  you  doing  here,  Bill 
Black?'' 

^'Attending    to  my  own  business," 
I  replied. 

He  then  sprung  at  me  and  got  hold  on 
the  lapel  of  my  coat,  and  began  jerking 
and  bemeaning  me,  while  I_  was  trying 
to  swallow  the  remnants^  of  my  supper. 

'^He  shook  me  too  hard  and  I  dropped 
my  hunk  of  bread  and  ordered  him  to 

'desist,  which  he  did  not  do  unti^  I  drew 
my  pistol  and  struck  him  on  the  wrist. 

I  started  for  the  gate,  telling  him  to 
not  interfere  with  me,  for  if  he  did  I 
would  shoot  him.  He  said  I  was  too 
big  a  coward  to  shoot,  and  caught  me  by 
the  collar  again  almost  jerking  me  off  the 
ground. 

I  At  this  time  Mary  and  Mrs.  Rainwa- 
'ter  came*  between  us,  he  still  holding  on. 
1  then  thrust  my  pistol  between  the  two 
women  and  fired  twice,  and  Rainwater 
fell  to""  the  ground. 

At  the  sound  of  the  shots  everyone  of 


128 


WAE  SKETCHES 


oar  men  fled  as  if  for  their  lives,  leaving 
me  alone.  I  then  left  the  house,  but 
before  going  200  j^ards,  I  heard  rapid 
hoof  strokes.  I  left  the  road  and  hid  in 
the  thick  brushwood  that  lined  the  road. 
Along  came  a  gang  of  Pin  Indians  and 
malitia  and  passed  me  at  full  gallop. 

I  then  mounted  my  horse  made  my 
way  to  Manson  HilPs  farm,  where  I 
found  Mi\  Hill  and  family  who  had  re- 
turned to  dig  up  their  treasures  and  re- 
move them  to  a  place  of  safety. 

On  inquiring  of  them  if  they  knew 
anything  of  my  late  companions,  I  was 
told  that  they  had  passed  there  at  full 
gallop  almost  scared  to  death. 

After  assisting  the  family  in  securing 
their  valuables,  I  crossed  the  river  at 
Van  Buren  and  returned  to  my  mother's 
home  on  Mazzard  prairie.  ; 

On  arriving  home  I  found  everything 
bustle  and  confusion.  News  had  just 
reached  here  that  Gen.  Blount,  in  com- 
mand of  a  large  force  of  Federal  troaps, 
was  descending  the  Arkansas  river,  in-? 
tent  on  making  a  sudden  swoop  on  Gen. 
CabePs  command. 

To  get  out  of  the  way  of  this  avalanche 


WAR  SKETCHES.  129 


f  blue  coats  was  our  first  consideration, 
onsequently  we  loaded  up  our  wagons 
t  once  and  struck  out  across  the  prairie 
ur  destination  being  Texas. 

Blount  came  on  and  took  Fort  Smith, 
ut  we  were  safely  on  our  way  to  the 
)ne  star  state.  Our  journey  was  with- 
ut  incident,  and  we  arrived  in  the  vi- 
init}^  of  Ladonia  late  in  the  fall. 

We  secured  a  house  from  Mrs.  Sade 
lackson,  and  proceeded  to  make  our- 
elves  as  comfortable  as  possible  under 
he  circumstances. 

The  nomadic  disposition  again  took 
vossession  of  me,  and  leaving  mother 
jid  the  children  here,  I,  in  company 
vith  Jim  and  Tom  Vinsant  and  George 
*^oster,  whose  families  had  been  with  us 
•n  the  trip  to  Texas;  returned  to  Arkan- 
as. 

We  had  no  adventures  worthy  to  be 
ecorded  on  this  trip,  and  reached  Center 
^oint  in  Sevier  county,  in  safety.  Here 
ve  were  snowbound  and  unable  to  pro- 
ceed further  for  two  weeks.  We  spent 
he  time  in  keeping  up  fires  and  doing 
he  chores.     Capt.  Applegate*  visited 

^See  When  I  Went  Soldiering 


130 


MB  several  times  during  o  ur  stay  here, 
and  seemed  quite  at  home  in  our  soci- 
ety. 

At  last,  however,  the  snow  blockade 
broke  sufficiently  to  allow  us  to  proceed, 
and  we  went  at  once  to  headquarters  at 
an  old  camp  ground  near  Center  Point. 
Here  we  staid  a  week,  occupying  our 
time  principally  in  doing  nothing. 

Tired  of  this  monotonous  life,  we 
pushed  on  and  joined  Buck  Brown's  Ben- 
ton county  troops,  who  were  camped  at 
the  Factory  Mills,  on  Little  River. 

Brown  soon  gave  me  command  of  a 
squad  of  men  and  ordered  us  to  recon- 
noiter  in  the  direction  of  Caddo  Gap. 
In  company  with  Bill  Boston  and  Alex 
Gregory,  I  had  a  little  spice  thrown  into 
the  trip. 

We  were  leisurely  riding  along  what 
was  known  as  Chaney  trace,  a  long  lane 
on  top  of  a  ridge,  with  a  creek  on  either 
side  of  us.  We  had  been  unable  to  hear 
the  slightest  news  of  the  enemy,  and 
were  not  particularly  on  the  look  out. 
Suddenly  one  of  the  boys  saw  a  Federal 
on  the  porch  of  a  house  some  distance  toJ 
our  left,  and  Boston  said: 


WAR  SKETCHES 


131 


'  'Boys^  let's  take  a"  pet  back  to  camp 
with  us/^  ■■ 

I  readily  agreed;  but  Gregory,  who 
was  of  a  philosophic  turn  ofmind^  said: 

^'Hold  OD,  boys;  you  don't  know  how 
many  blue-coats  may  be  there.  Don't 
be  rash,  let's  ride  up  leisurely." 

^'No/'  I  replied,  '^we'll  charge  the 
house." 

^'Now,  boys;  I  can  go  where  either  of 
you  can"  answered  Gregory,  ''but  f 
won't  unless  you  ride  up  leisurely." 

To  this  we  finally  consented.  We 
turned  up  the  short  lane  that  led  to  the 
house,  and  when  we  arrived  at  the  fence 
'I  holloed.  Instead  of  one  Federal  com- 
ing out  as  I  had  supposed,  eight  blue-  ^ 
coats  stepped  off  the  porch  and  up  in 
front  of  us,  Avith  arms  at  present.  Taken 
by  surprise  at  the  turn  affairs  had  taken  , 
I  could  only  ask:  ''Who  are  you?" 

"Soldiers,  and  belong  below,"  they 
replied.    "Who  are  you?" 

"Soldiers  from  below,"  I  answered. 

We  continued  to  talk  for  some  time, 
and  finally  telling  them  that  our  busi- 
ness lay  "rolling,"  we  bid  them  an  affec- 
tionate(?)  adieu,  and  left  them  as  we  had 


132 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


found  them— in  possession  of  the  house. 

On  looking  back  we  chanced  to  glance 
across  the  field,  and  to  our  horror,  the 
woods  seemed  literally  blue  with  the 
enemy.  I  now  cautioned  my  two  com- 
panions to  obey  my  slightest  instruction 
and  we  proceeded  on  our  way,  constant- 
ly watching  over  our  shoulders  to  see 
that  we  were  not  pursued. 

On  arriving  near  the  next  house,  and 
after  thoroughly  satisfying  ourselves  that 
no  men  were  about  the  premises,  we 
boldly  charged,  and  then  soundly  berat- 
ed the  family  for  being  in  sympathy  with 
the  rebels.  We  adopted  this  ruse  to 
tlirow  chance  pursuers  off  the  track.  The 
inmates  of  the  house,  of  course,  denied 
their  Southern  proclivities,  but  we  ap- 
peared not  to  believe  their  protestations 
of  fealty  to  the  North.  We  left  them 
fully  believing  we  were  of  the  Federal 
army. 

Suddenly  we  heard  a  sound  like  dis- 
tant thunder^  and  stopped  to  listen.  It 
was  the  sound  of  horses  hoofs,  and  we 
were  confident  that  at  last  a  company  of 
cavalry  was  hot  on  our  trail.  We  then 
diverged  to  the  roadside  to  await  their 


WAR  SKETCHES;  133 

arrival,  when  we  heard  the  dogs  barking 
at  the  house  just  passed.  They  had  evi- 
dently stopped  to  inquire  for  us,  and  as 
they  did  not  come  on  after  us  we  con- 
cluded the  family  had  convinced  them 
of  our  loyalty  and  they  had  returned  to 
I  the  main  command. 

I  We  continued  our  way  to  our  camp 
and  reported  to  Maj.  Brown  our  discov- 
eries, who  on  the  .strength  of  our  infor- 
mation, concluded  to  surprise  the  Fed- 
erals in  their  camp,  and  accordingly  we 
Avere  soon  on  the  road. 

We  arrived  at  the  place  where  we  had 
seen  the  enemy,  but  they  had  gone. 

Maj .  Brown  concluded  to  go  through 
Caddo  Gap,  and  pass  down  the  Cove  of 
the  same  name,  hoping  to  strike  the  en- 
emy at  some  point,  where  th^y  would  be 
least  expecting  it. 

While  on  the  road  I  chanced  to  glance 
into  a  yard,  and  sav/  a  woman  whom  I 
thought  I  knew.  I  accordingly  dis- 
mounted and  entered  the  house,  and  the 
woman  proved  Mrs.  Margaret  Winfrey, 
wife  of  Capt.  Winfrey,  who  was  an  offi- 
cer in  the  Confederate  army.  She  was 
a  lady  I  had  long  known,  and  I  was 


134 


WAR  SK.I?rOHK^. 


proud  to  meet  her.  On  dismounting  I 
■  ■;'edthat  Maj\  Brown  liad  also  dis- 
dited  and  was  following  me  into  the 
house.  I  introduced  him  to  Mrs.  Win- 
frey ^  and  they  chatted  very  pleasantly 
together. 

Mrs.  Winfrey  informed  me  that  her 
sister^  Susan^  was  also  in  the  house  but 
was  sick.  This  struck  me  in  a  soft  place 
as  Susan  and  I  were  sweethearts,  so  I 
hurriedly  entered  the  room  to  console  her 
in  her  afflictions* 

Maj.  Brown  and  Mrs.  Winfrey  entered 
as  I  was  telling  Susan  of  a  remedy  for 
her  complaint.  I  wrote  a  prescription 
with  the  sang  froid  of  a  regular  practi- 
tioner^  and  handed  it  to  her. 

Maj.  Brown  and  I,  having  concluded 
our  informal  call,  hurried  on  after  the 
command. 

That  night,  after  w^e  had  gone  into  . 
camp,  Maj.  Brown  took  me  by  the  arm 
and  requested  that  I  go  with  him.  I 
complied,  and  he  took  me  and  introduc- 
ed me  to  all  his  officers  as  ^  ^Doctor 
Black,  a  soubrequet  that  stuck  to  me 
for  quite  a  while. 

After  passing  through  Caddo  Gap,  we 


WAR  SKETCHES 


135 


turned  Avest  and  passed  through  "F.ke's 
Hole,  and  on  to  the  Factory  Miiis,  on 
Little  river. 

Maj .  Brown  again  sent  me  with  a  small 
scout  to  reconnoiter.  After  passing  Ark- 
adelphia  and  Hot  Springs,  we  came  upon 
Gen.  Steele's  command  of  Federal 
troops.  We  retired  to  the  roadside  and 
sought  an  eminence  from  which  to  count 
the  troops  as  they  passed.  i. 


136 


WAR  SKETCHES, 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

As  the  rear  guard  came  almost  abreast 
of  US,  a  sound  saluted  our  ears  like  the 
earth  had  suddenly  burst  asunder;  like 
the  sky  above  us  was  sending  forth  vi- 
cious discharges  of  lurid  lightning.  It 
was  Jo  Shelby  attacking  and  surprising 
their  rear. 

Great  was  the  consternation  among 
them  at  first,  but  they  soon  rallied  and 
the  attacking  force  of  cavahy  retired, 
but  only  to  make  another  *  vigorous  on- 
slaught as  the  column  resumed  its  march. 

This  running  fight  was  kept  up  until 
the  town  of  Ant  wine  was  reached.  We, 
in  the  meantime,  had  ridden  around  the 
Federals  and  were  ascending  the  hill  on 
the  west  side  of  Antwine,  when  wo  sud- 
denly found  ourselves  confronted,  bur- 
rounded,  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by 
men.  Great  was  our  relief  when  wo 
found  the  men  were  Maj.  Brown's  com- 
manH.     They  had  reached  this  place, 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


137 


planted  their  heavy  guns  so  as  to  com- 
mand the  town,  and  had  them  masked 
so  as  to  avoid  discovery. 

We  fell  in  and  awaited  the  approach 
of  the  Federals.  .  Soon  they  entered  the 
town  and  scattered  all  over  the  place, 
pillaging  stores,  private  houses  etc. 
They  seemed  to  fill  the  town,  like  bhick- 
birds,  hunting  food  and  all  other  porta- 
bles, whether  valuable  or  not. 

Suddenly,  like  an  unlooked  for  erup- 
tion of  a  mighty  valcano,  the  masked 
batteries  concentrated  their  fire  on  the 
pillaging  troops.  Grape,  cannister,  "sol- 
id shot  and  shell,  were  mercilessly  pour- 
ed into  the  confused  blue-coats,  compel- 
ing  them  to  hurriedly  retire  to  a  hill 
east  of  the  town.  Here  they  seemed  to 
hold  a  consultation,  and,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  sharp-shooters,  not  a 
gun  was  fired  on  us. 

They  then  marched  down  a  creek,  and 
I  followed  with  my  scouts. 

Some  two  miles  from  the  town,  the 
enemy  went  into  camp,  and  Maj. 
Brown's  command  fell  back  some  two 
or  three  miles.  I  kept  a  watch  on  the 
enemy  all  night.    Maj..  Brown  followed 


138 


WAR  ^K-KluHEB 


after  thein  next  day,  and  a  desultory 
kind  of  fighting  was  kept  up  until  we 
formed  a  junction  with  the  main  army 
at  Prairie  du  Han.  Here  we  met  the 
main  Federal  army,  and  an  artillery  du- 
el was  the  result. 

Prairie  du  Han  is  a  long  strip  of  prai- 
rie,  about  five  or  six  hundred  yards 
wide. ,  The  Federal  forces  held  one  sidq 
while  we  were  drawn  up  in  line  on  the 
other.  The  artilknw  on  both  sides  open- 
ed up  about  sundown,  and  a  veritable 
duel  was  fought  from  then  until  about^ 
10  o'clock. 

At  midnight  Maj.  Brown  gave  orders 
to  move,  and  we  left  the  main  command 
and  marched  up  the  river  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Fort  Smitl-U  ^ 

Arriving  in  the  vicinity  of  theFourchej 
la  Pavre,  Maj.  Brown  ordered  a  d(Uach-| 
ment  to  proctn^d  ahead  and  destroy  a 
Federal  outpost,  supposed  to  be  not  fur 
distant. 

Accordingly  65  men,  including  Co]. 
Hawthorne,  CoL  Jim  King,  who  was  in 
command,  Col.  Faith  and  others;  started 
in   the  direction  of  where  the  Federals 

wuTij   su]:)pu,->ed  to  he  t'lioampetk     Willi  ■ 


out  urinocessary  delay  we  proceeded  on 
our.  journey,  but  on  arriving  at  our  des- 
tination wo  found  the  birds  had  flown; 
and  we  decided  to  return  empty  banded. 
However,  just  before  we  reached  the 
crossing  of  tlie  Fort  Smith  and  little 
Hock  road,  we  espied  a  uuml>er  of  F^'ed- 
erals  leisurely  proceeding  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Little  Rock. 

As  w^e  w^ere  short  of  a  munition  ,  and 
fearing  a  large  force,  we  retired  to  a  dry  " 
ditch  in  our  I'ear. 

We  w:ere  discovered  at  once,  and  a 
steady  advance  w^as  made  on  us.  For- 
tunately, however,  our  natural  embank- 
ment afforded  us  ample  protection,  and 
their  shots  did  no  damage. 

Only  one  man  in  our  command  was 
provided  with  a  long  range  gun,  and  he 
ahine  was  ordered  to  fire  on  the  ap= 
p]\>aching  enem}\  For  perhaps  an  hour 
they  kept  up  the  fusilade,  an(f  then  re- 
treated in  the  direction  frv)m  whence 
they  came. 

We  were  immediately  ordered  to 
charge,  and  we  did  so  with  a  vengeance, 
Witli  the  deadly  six-shooter,  we  were 
soon  amoni::  them  dealin^i  death  and  de- 


140 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


struction  o'n  every  hand.  Now  thorough- 
ly terrified,  tlie  affrighted  men  seemed 
unable  to  escape. 

Dr.  Fairchild  was  riding  along  in  a 
buggy,  and  did  not  seem  to  want  to  get 
away.  I  passed  by  him  on  a  dead  run, 
and  after  the  chase  was  over,  saw  him 
lying  in  his  buggy,  shot  through  the 
head. 

We  were  heartily  sorry  that  anyone  so 
heartless  could  have  a  place  in  our  com- 
mand, and  rigid  steps  were  taken  to  fer- 
ret out  the  perpetrator  of  the  crime,  for 
we  so  considered  it.  The  men  were 
drawn  up  in  Ime  and  series  of  rigid 
questions  were  put,  but  no  one  knew 
anything  about  the  matter. 

Of  the  36  soldiers  who  charged  upon 
us  in  the  ravine,  only  three  escaped  to 
tell  the  tale  of  destruction. 

This  w^as  sent  abroad  through  the  col- 
umns of  the  ultra-Northern  press,  as  the 
''Fairchild  Massacre/'  and  we  were 
soundly  berated  for  our  heartlessness  in 
thus  ridding  the  Confederacy  of  a  num- 
ber of  her  most  vicious  enemies. 

After  we  had  rested  for  a  few  hours 
we  resumed  our  march  up  the  river, 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


141 


crossing  at  the  mouth  of  Frog  Bayou ^ 
and  going  direct  to  Gave  Camp, 

Here  Vinsant  and  I  left  the  main  bodv 
which  proceeded  in  the  direction  of 
Washington  county,  while  we  remained 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  old  rendezuous. 

Finding  none  of  the  bojjs  here,  we 
went  to  Cainp  Beaver  Pond,  but  met  with 
no  better  success  in  our  search.  Finally 
however,  we  learned  that  Capt.  Crouch, 
with  a  small  detachment  of  men,  was 
encamped  on  Gove  creek,  and  we  joined 
him. 

Soon  after  our  arrival  we  captured  a 
blacksmith  with  his  tools,  and  moved 
tae  whole  outfit  and  put  up  the  shop  on 
a  branch,  betv/een  Frog  Bayou  and  Mul- 
berry creek,  and  prepared  to  have  our 
horses  shod.  We  had  put  out  pickets  to 
guard  against  surprise,  and  were  busily 
engaged  in  our  task  when  the  pickets 
came  rushing  in,  hotly  pursued  by  some 
^ ^mountain  boomers,"  as  we  termed  the 
Federal  malitia. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  branch  was  an 
almost  perpendicular  bluff,  six  or  eight 
feet  high,  and  up  over  this  we  went  as 
though  it  were  level  ground.     So  thor- 


142 


WAR  SKETCHES, 


ougli  had  been  our  surprise ,  and  so  great 
our  fright,  that  we  had  not  thought  of 
obstacles  until  after  they  were  surmount- 
ed. We  ran  some  distance  and  then 
slipped  back  to  see  what  the  enemy  was 
doing. 

We  found  them  busily  engaged  in 
breaking  our  rudely  constructed  smithy 
to  pieces.  We  decided  to  give  them  a 
taste  of  surprise,  and  after  passing 
around  them,  placed  ourselves  in  wait- 
ing. 

Soon  they  came  leisurely  along,  and 
as  we  charged  them  it  was  their  time  to 
run.  Our  boys  chased  them  for  some 
distance  and  then  proceeded  to  camp. 

About  this  time  we  received  orders  to 
assemble  all  troops  possible  at  or  near 
Logtown,  one  mile  north  of  Van  Buren. 
for  a  demonstration  on  that  place. 

Accordingly  Capt.  Crouch  set  out  and 
formed  a  junction  w^ith  the  companies  oi 
Captains  Wright,  WhitBon,  Head,  Fitz- 
williams  and  Inks.  We  then  hovered 
near  Van  Buren,  making  a  demonstra- 
tion as  though  we  intended  attacking  a1 
once. 

Soon  the  Federal  forces  were  seen  hur 


WAR  SKKTn UKr^ 


143 


rying  from  Fort  Smith.  The  town  was 
soon  full  to  overflowing  with  blue-coats, 
and  it  appeared  as  if  the  garrison  had 
been  depleted  in  order  to  send  the  rein- 
forcements. 

No  sooner  had  the  maneuver  proven 
successful,  than  we  hurriedly  crossed  the 
Arkansas  river  at  the  mouth  of  Lees 
creek,  and  made  a  sudden  descent  on 
Fort  Smith,  creating  consternation  and 
making  havoc  generally. 

Again  the  Federal  troops  were  put  in. 
motion,  this  time  to  succor  and  prevent 
Fort  Smith  from  falling  into  the  hands 
of  the  rebels.  We  then  recrossed  the 
river,  and  seeing  that  our  maneuver  was 
not  wholly  without  result,  and  that  the 
enemy  was  sufficiently  stirred  up;  we 
separated,  Vinsant  and  I  going  up  on 
Frog  Bayou  with  Gapt.  Wright's  com- 
mand. 

After  we  had  rested  a  few  days,  sever- 
al of  the  boys,  including  Jasper  Peevy- 
house.  Jack  Cotrell,  Tom  Vinsant,  Geo. 
Williams.  Jim  Vinsant  and  myself  con- 
cluded to  make  a  reconnoisance  in  the 
vicinity  of  Van  Buren.  Accordingly  we 
went  to  Mrs.  Bi^own's,  an  aunt  of  the 


144 


WAE  SKETCHES. 


Vinsant  boys,  and  gathered  what  infor- 
mation we  could,  which  was  of  a  meager 
character. 

We  pitched  our  camp  in  what  was 
known  as  Pine  Hollow,  a  dark  and  se- 
cluded canon,  near  the  mouth  of  Lees 
creek.  From  this  point  we  made  fre- 
quent sories  on  the  neighboring  Federal 
outposts,  and  created  no  little  uneasiness 
by  the  uncertainty  of  our  movements. 

While  here  we  learned  of  a  small  gang 
of  Feds,  herding  a  drove  of  about  150 
mules  in  the  vicinity  of  Ft.  Smith.  W 
decided  that  this  prize  was  too  valuabl 
to  let  pass,  so  we  set  out  to  capture  it. 

As  we  emerged  on  a  little  prarie,  al 
most  in  sight  of  Fort  Smith,  we  suddenly 
came  upon  a  number  of  Pin  Indians.  No 
sooner  did  they  sight  us  than  they  open- 
ed fire  on  us.  We  soon  put  them  to 
flight,  however,  but  were  forced  to  aban- 
don the  prize. 

We  then  returned  to  camp,  and  I  con^,! 
eluded  to  scout  a  little  on  my  own  hook. 
I  took  through  the  woods  toward  Van 
Buren,  hunting  squirrel.  Soon  I  came 
upon  two  Federal  soldiers  who  were  en- 
j  oying  the  same  recreation.  Togethe| 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


145 


we  sought  the  frisky  rodent  for  a  while ^ 
when  we  got  into  an  altercation  and  I 
cut  two  more  notches  on  my  pistol. 

I  returned  to  camp  and  we  went  down 
the  ravine  known  as  the  Pennywait  Mill 
Hollow,  struck  Main  street  in  Van  Buren 
about  where  the  Crawford  County  Bank 
uow  stands  and  went  in  the  direction  of 
Logtown  where  the  Federal  pickets  were.  ' 
We  rode  to  within  fifty  yards  of  them, 
and  turned  ourselves  loose  among  them 
and  had  them  scattered  in  every  direc- 
tion, before  they  discovered  we  were  not 
comrades,  as  they  had  supposed. 


146 


WAE  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

LEAKisrmG  that  Capt.  Wright's  com 
mand  had  come  into  the  neighborhood, 
we  sought  them  out  and  joined  them. 
But  as  we  had  raised  the  ire  of  the  ene- 
my, and  occasioned  enough  excitement 
for  a  while,  we  concluded  to  retire;  tha 
is,  seek  other  fields  of  action. 

On  our  retreat  we  passed  Olive 
Springs,  where  we  learned  that  abou 
200  of  the  enemy  were  on  our  trail  de 
termined  to  wipe  us  out.  We  then  hek 
a  council  of  war.  There  were  but  16  oj 
us  and  we  could  not  fight  them  in  th< 
open  field.  What  could  we  do?  Resor 
to  stratagem,  for  that  was  our  onl; 
show. 

On  we  went,  crossing  Frog  Bayou  a 
the  mouth  of  Cedar  Greek,  then  dow.  ^ 
the  road  in  the  direction  of  Van  Burei] 
crossing  Frog  Bayou  again  at  the  Ro^, 
ford.    After  passing  this  ford  a  few  hujj| 
dren  yards  there  is  a  hill  west  of  til 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


147 


road^  which  we  thought  would  be  a  good 
point  for  us  to  make  a  stand^  so  we  left 
our  horses  west  of  the  point  and  were 
soon  busily  engaged  in  piling  up  stones 
to  be  used  as  breastworks,  and  our  fort 
was  soon  ready  for  the  fun. 

We  were  not  kept  long  in  suspense  for 
an  old  Union  lady  came  along  the  road, 
and  seeing  us  said: 

•^What  are  you  doing  up  there,  boys? 
You  think  you  are  mighty  smart.  You 
had  better  go  in  and  give  up,  for  yoi* 
will  be  whipped  and  have  to  give  up 
anyhow,  and  the  first  thing  you  know 
you  will  all  be  killed,  a  foolin'  around 
this  way.  You  aren't  smart  enough  to 
get  our  Union  boys  in  a  trap,  and  if  you 
don't  watch  our  boys  will  come  in  behind 
you  and  get  all  your  horses." 

By  this  time  I  had  reached  the  road 
in  front  of  her,  and  took  hold  of  her 
horse's  bridle  and  said: 

''Old  lady,  as  you  are  acting  the  part 
of  a  spy,  I  am  forced  to  dismount  you 
so  you  cannot  travel  so  fast  and  report 
-"  air you  learn;  so  get  down." 

Capt.  Winfrey  said  he  thought  if  I 
would  let  her  keep  her  horse  she  would 


148 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


go  home  and  not  report  us.  She  answer- 
ed that  she  liked  our  boys  and  would 
not  do  us  any  harm  for-the  world. 

^^Yes  you  would/'  T  replied^  ^'you 
would  have  us  murdered^  and  I  am  go- 
ing to  dismount  you.'' 

Capt.  Winfrey  put  in  again  and  she 
was  allowed  to  keep  her  horse.  She 
turned  back  as  if  going home,  but  instead 
she  went  to  the  enemy. 

Not  feeling  safe  here  we  fell  back  to 
our  horses  and  crossed  Frog  Bayou  at  a 
deep  ford  almost  east  of  our  little  fort. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  creek  was  a 
narrow  strip  of  land  between  the  creek 
and  a  slough.  Behind  this  bank  we  dis- 
mounted and  tied  our  horses,  the  bankj 
being  high  enough  to  hide  them.  We 
then  waited  for  the  enemy. 

In  a  short  time  six  of  them  appeared 
on  the  bank  of  the  creek.  We  supposed 
this  to  be  the  advance,  but  they  Icft.th 
road  and  bore  east,  almost  in  the  direc 
tion  of  where  we  were  hiding.  We  soo 
noticed  that  they  were  looking  in  the  di 
rection  of  our  fort  and  seemed  to  notic 
nothing  else. 

We  concluded  that  a  trap  was  set  fo 


WAR  SKETCHES 


149 


US  and  that  vv^e  must  beat  it.  ¥/e  re- 
mounted and  recrossed  the  creek  un-no- 
ticed  by  them,  they  being  about  250 
yards  distant. 

The  order  was  to  cut  them  off  from  the 
main  bod}^,  and  catch  them  all.  When 
the  order  to  charge  was  given,  they 
heard  it  and  started  in  the  direction  of 
Van  Buren,  but  they  soon  changed  their 
course  and  fled  in  the  directioiji,  from 
which  they  came. 

Then  began  a  race  for  dear  life,  each 
urging  his  horse  to  the  top  of  its  speed, 
trying  to  reach  the  ford  first. 

Our  boys  were  armed  Vvdth  pistols  only 
while  the  other  side  was  ¥/ell  armed. 

By  the  time  we  gotwdthin  75  yards  of 
them,  Jess  Morton  recognized  me  and 
began  to  curse  me.  He  was  armed  with 
a  16  shooting  rifle  and  two  45  pistols, 
and  began  firing  at  me. 

I  did  not  return  the  fire  because  1  was 
only  armed  with  a  32  Remington  pistol 
and  was  holding  my  fire  for  close  quar- 
ters. At  about  25  yards  Morton  sent  a 
bullet  so  close  to  my  nose  that  it  brought 
the  tears  to  my  eyes.  However,  I  rub- 
bed  the   tears  away,    and  as  soon  as  I 


150 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


could  sec,  I  pulled  down  on  Morton,  as  I 
supposed,  but  it  proved  to  be  another 
fellow.  Just  as  I  pulled  trigger,  my 
horse  stumbled  and  I  shot  the  horse"  m 
the  shoulder  and  down  he  went,  across 
the  road  at  the  edge  of  the  water. 

Two  other  federal's  horses  fell  over 
the  wounded  horse  into  the  water,  thus 
dismounting  three  of  them,  and  I  had  to 
check  my  horse  to  avoid  the  same  fate. 

There  being  two  going  out  places  on 
the  north  side  of  the  creek,  one  of  the 
Federals  went  to  the  lower  going  out 
place,  and  Capt.  Winfrey  followed  him. 
The  other  two  started  for  the  upper  go- 
ing out  place,  so,  pistol  in  hand,  I  head- 
ed them  off  and  turned  them  up  stream, 

I  did  not  go  far,  however,  until  they 
faced  about  and  fired  on  me.  I  returned 
the  fire  and  down  went  one  of  them.  I 
then  exchanged  shots  with  the  other  and 
dovvm  he  went,  but  they  were  soon  on 
their  feet  again  and  shooting  time  about 
with  me.  Each  of  them  received  two 
shots  and  sank  down  in  the  water. 

I  immediately  wrenched  the  pistols 
from  the  hands  of  one  of  the  men,  as  I 
had  emptied  my  own. 


WAR  SKETCirEr:^ 


151 


On  looking  around  I  discovered  the 
second  one  of  the  two  drawing  a  bead  oh 
me.  I  threw  rny  pistol  down  on  him, 
but  could  not  have  had  time  to  slioot  be- 
fore he  would  have  got  me.  Suddenly 
his  pistols  dropped  from  his  hands  and 
they  fell  limp  at  his  side,  and  1  was 
saved. 

On  looking  up  1  saw  Tom  Vinsant  on 
the  bank  of  the  creek  v/ith  his  smoking 
gun  in  his  hands,  telling  the  tale  of  the 
fortunate  shot  that  saved  my  life. 

The  other  boys  were  in  hot  pursuit  of 
the  flying  Feds,  and  I  yelled  at  them  to 
stop  as  they  were  running  into  an  am- 
bush. I  finally  succeeded  in  getting 
them  halted,  and  on  looking  at  the  far- 
ther end  of  the  lane,  we  saw  what  I  had 
surmised— the  Federals— who,  chagrined 
at  our  failing  to  fall  into  the  trap,  had 
begun  to  move  about  and  show  them- 
selves. 

After  the  boys  returned  from  their 
chase  we  went  to  the  place  where  we  had 
hidden  behind  the  bank,  and  awaited 
their  coming,  fully  "expecting  them  to 
charge  us. 

In  about  half  an  hour  they  came  along 


152 


WAK  SKETCHES. 


but  did  not  diverge  to  attack  us.  We 
then  left  our  retreat  and  camped  that 
night  in  the  woods. 

After  we  had  laid  down  on  our  pallets 
I  overheard  a  conversation  between  two 
of  our  boys,  as  follows: 

First  Soldier— What  caused  you  to  join 
the  ariny? 

Second  Soldier — You  see/  I  am  a  sin- 
gle man  and  I  love  war,  so  I  joined  the 
army.  Now  tell  me  wdiat  caused  you  to 
join  the  army? 

First  Soldier— Well,  vou  see,  lam  a 
married  man  and  I  love  peace,  so  I  join- 
ed the  army. 

The  following  day  wo  went  to  the 
house  of  Bill  Couch,  some  miles  south 
from  where  we  had  camped. 

Here  was  a  lane  in  the  shape  of  an  L 
with  a  house  at  the  corner  of  the  lane. 
We  all  remained  on  our  horses  except 
Couch,  vfho  entered  his  house.  While 
w^e  were  waitiug  for  him  to  come  out, 
the  Federals  charged  on  us  from  the 
eastern  extremit}^  of  the  lane.  We  re- 
treated to  the  northern  end  and  there 
made  a  stand.  Here  we  held  them  at 
bay  until  some  of  them,  more  thoughtfvil 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


153 


;han  the  others,  began  to  lay  down  the 
*ence  to  pass  through  the  field.  We 
ihen  retreated  through  an  open  spare 
md  made  another  stand. 

About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  our  rear 
/^as  a  deep  gully,  with  only  one  cross- 
^ay — a  narrow  cow  trail —  and'we  hast- 
ened to  this  friendly  shelter.  A  part  of 
IS  formed  near  the  gully  to  give  the  re- 
nainder  a  chance  to  cross. 

While  retreating,  Tom  Fine's  horse 
^an  under  a  stooping  dogwood  tree  and 
le  was  knocked  to  the  ground.  Pete 
nne  and  I  kept  up  a  hot  fire  on  his  pur- 
iuors  until  he  was  enabled  to  remount 
lis  horse,  cross  the  gully  and  escape. 

While  waiting  for  the  advance  to  get 
)ver,  they  charged  us,  and  Jess  Morton 
ushed  up  and  exclaimed: 
^^Oh,  yes,  Bill  Black,  G—  d—  you; 

'11  get  you  this  time." 
I  fired  at  him.,  killing  his  mule,  and 

ess  concluded  that  ^'he  who  fights  and 

iins  away,  may  live  to  fight  another 

ay/'  and  run  away  he  did,  in  no  very 

cod  order. 

'  ■  After  we  had  all  succeeded  in  crossing 
i.e   gully,    we  hid  behind   trees  and 


154 


WAR  SKETCilSS. 


stumps,  fully  expecting  to  be  charged 
upon,  as  the  enemy  outnumbered  us  ful- 
ly fifteen  to  one.  Some  of  the  boys,  be- 
coming frightened  at  the  odds  against  us, 
took  to  their  heels  after  we  formed  at 
the  mouth  of  the  lane,  and  did  not  stop 
in  their  m.ad  flight  until  tliey  reached 
the  vicinity  of  Capt.  Wright's,  where 
tiiey  reported  us  all  mercilessly  slain. 

Of  course  this  proved  a  hoax,  for  we 
v^ere  very  much  alive,  as  subsequent 
events  proved. 


WAR  SKETCHES.  155 


CPl AFTER  XIX. 

Am  waiting  a  reasonable  length  of 
tune  xor  tne  expected  attack,  we  left  the 
opo.^ana  went  to  the  neighborhood  of 
v^ap..  H'nght's,  where  we  rested  a  few 

^  While  here,  Jim  King,  Andy  Frazier, 
i^iliaid  James  and  two  or  three  other 
went  at  night  across  the  mountain 
[to  the  vicmjtyofFine  Springs 
.  About  daybreak  next  morning'  we 
Iheard  finng  m  that  direction,  and 
mounting  our  horses  went  hurriedly  to 
.he.ehefof  the  boys,  but  arrived  too 

1  Poor  Jim  King  and  Andy  Frazier 
:;y  dead.  Dillard  James,  like  Israel 
u.nam,  of  Revolutionary  fame,  escap- 
d  by  leaping  his  horse  down  the  moun- 
a^ii  side  where  it  was  so  steep  the  Feds 
id  not  dare  to  follow. 
We  gave  chase  to  the  slayers  of  our 
^nrrades,  but  they  had  too  much  the 

for  us  to  overtake  and  punish  them 


156 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


On  their  way  to  Van  Buren,  however^ 
they  met  two  of  our  men,  Farris  and 
Hite,  who  were  returning  to  our  camp, 
and  gave  chase.  Hite  sent  a  shot  into 
the  ranks  of  the  approaching  enemy  and 
had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  one  of  them 
tumble  from  his  horse, 

0!i  our  return  from  the  pursuit,  we 
s: :)3Ded  and  buried  Kino;  and  Frazier, 
A  hole  was  dug,  they  were  wrapped  in 
theh^  blankets,  and  without  the  strains 
of  ch'Lim  or  fife,  were  placed  side  by  side 
in  this  rude  burial.    So  let  tliem  rest. 

'Tls  a  fitting  end—though  rude  the 
couch  and  rough  the  men  who  made  it— 
tbit  those  two,  w]]o  had  stood  side  by 
side  in  the  hottest  fights,  might  now  rest 
sido  by  side  in  the  quiet  si  umber  of 
death 

After  the  burial  we  returned  to  Camp 
Wright,  wl^ere  I  learned  from  Cynthia 
Lester,  that  a  filly  which  I  had  placed  in 
her  care,  had  been  taken  away  by  a  man 
named  Surrat. 

This  news  filled  me  with  great  indig- 
tion,  and  1  determined  to  make  a  raid 
on  the  despoiler  and  try  to  recover  my 
})r -pi^'ty.    Accordingly,  1  :::[  out  accom- 


WAR  SKETCHES 


157 


paiiied  by  John  Covington^  Nel<  Tiogler 
and  Sol  Was^oiier,  for  the  home  of  Sav- 
rat. 

We  determined  to  play  Federal  soldier 
on  iiim,  as  we  well  knew  that  lie  was  in 
the  habit  of  visiting  the  garrison  atl^or" 
Smith.  It  was  also  known  to  us  thctt 
Ihe  Federal  artillery  had  Bonio  miilos 
running  in  the  rr  ■[Zijiii  n-ar  him: 
lience  our  decision  cl.  p-^^O'  -^oderal  horse 
hunters. 

-  We  arrived  at  the  old  man's  house 
about  nine  o'clock  at  night,  told  him  we 
were  looking  for  horses  that  had  strayed 
from  the  fort  and  had  decided  to  sta}^ 
with  him  till  morning. 

We  dismounted  and  just  as  I  put  one 
foot  oyer  the  fence  to  enter  the  yard,  the 
light  in  the  house  went  out  and  several 
^un  muzzles  made  their  appearance 
"ihrough  the  cracks.  He  then  told  us  that 
le  would  kill  the  first  man  who  crossed 
;he  fence. 

In  vain  we  argued,  threatened  and 
ead,  and  not  caring  to  face  those  guns, 

ve  departed  minus,  of  course, .my  filly. 
We  repaired  to  the  thick  woods  of  the 

>ottom,  where  we  camped  for  the  night. 


15S 


WAR  m 


While  sitting  around  .our  camp-fire  we 
heard  a  noise^  and  on  looking  up  in  a 
huge  cotton-wood  tree,  the  head  of  a  cub 
bear  was  seen  protruding  from  a  hole. 

immedi  11  was  excitement  and 

we  deter  miiied  to  least  on  bear  meat. 
One  of  the  boys  went  to  Sanfbrd  Foster's 
aud  br  1  an  ax,  and  we  proceeded 

to  3.    Finally  the  huge  tree 

camu  u^uVv  ii,  and  insi-b:  -y^  [i  we  found  an 
old  bear  and  three  ci.  :. :  ^  ..a.  of  which  'we 
killed.  \¥e  then  proceeded  to  barbecue 
the  meat  and  have  a  feast. 

While  we  were  enjoying  our  bear  meat 
and  living  so  hugely  /  we  were  joined  by 
Col.  Jim  King  and  about  ten  men,  and 
they  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  our  camp 
for  the  night.  On  the  next  day  he  per- 
suaded us  to  join  hiin  in  a  raid. 

The  Federal  forces  had  been  heading 
for  Little  Rock  for  sometime  past,  going 
in  small  detachments-,  large  bodies,  or 
just  as  the  notion  took  them,  as  they  re- 
garded the  country  as  perfectly  safe. 

We  had  been  on  the  lookout  for  these 
straggling  bodies  of  Federals,  and  con- 
clu'i.^^-:'      hj^^ve  some  fur  ^''vf  of  the  next' 


159 


we  selected  a  thicket  and  concealed  our- 
selves. Soon' 8.  body  of  men  was'descried 
eoniin-  ^  umber   proved    to  be 

about  2dUj  wniie  we  numbered  26,  all 
told.  Nothing  daunted,  however,  by 
the  odds  against- us,  we  determined  to 
have  our  fun. 

Patiently  waiting  until  the  rear  of  the 
column  was  abreast  of  us,  we  dashed  out 
and  with  ;/ells  and  shots  were  soon 
among  them.  Taken  by  surprise,  those 
in  the  rear  cro¥/ded  those  ahead,  and 
they,  not  knowing  the  size  of  our  party, 
fled  down  the  road.  We" followed,  yell- 
wildly  and  pouring  a  leaden  hail  in- 
to their  rear,  until  twenty-seven  of  them 
had  fired  Ijieir  last  shot  in  suppressing 
the  rebellion. 

Seeing  the  offi.cers  plant  themselves 
.across  the  road  ^nd  rally  their  men..-  we 
concluded  it  was  time  for  us  to  fly. 

Just  as  we  turned  to  go  they  received 
the  order  to  charge.  As  we  had  now 
become  the  fugitives;  we  made  good  use 
of  our  horse-flesh  in  getting  away.  When 
we  saw  they  were  about  to  overtake  us, 
we, took  to  the  brush  hoping  they  would 
not  follow,  but  we  were  mistaken,  for  on 


160 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


they  came  like  mad  and  every  moment 
seemed  to  lessen  our  chance  of  escape, 
as  our  horses  were  nearly  exhausted. 

We  decided  to  aba^ndon  our  animals 
and  take  to  a  ruff*  on  foot,  and  were 
within  150  yards  of  the  spot  when  our 
pursuers  gave  up  the  chase. 

After  this  chase  Sol  Wagoner  and  I 
become  separated  from  the  company  and 
concluded  to  look  out  for  ourselves.  Soon 
after,  however,  Wagoner  concluded  to 
go  down  to  Mulberry  to  see  his  wife,  and 
I  decided  to  make  a  raid  on  Van  Buren 
alone.  ^ 

I  rode  boldly  into  town  and  near  the 
Bostick  hotel  I  met  a  Federal  soldier  on 
horseback.  I  stopped  to  talk  to  him  in 
order  to  throw  off  suspicion,  but  could 
see  he  was  not  satisfied  with  my  appear- 
ance, and  began  to  ease  his  hand  back 
to  his  pistol.  I  got  the  drop  on  him 
and  forced  him  to  drop  his  pistol,  and 
we  rode  out  of  town  as  though  nothing 
had  happened.  I  lost  him  after  I  had 
passed  out  of  town  a  few  miles,  and  filed 
another  notch  on  my  pistol. 

On  my  way  to  Camp  Wright  1  met 
my  cousin,  Jim  Shannon,  and  we  plan- 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


ned  a  raid  on  our  own  hook.  We  stop- 
ped two  or  three  hours  in  my  mother's 
pasture  to  let  our  horses  graze,  before 
beginning  the  work  of  the  night.  Soon 
aft3r  night-fall  we  saddled  our  horses 
and  started. 

Our  mode  of  operation  was  this:  One 
of  us  would  go  quietly  to  a  house,,  and 
after  being  given  ample  time  to  secrete 
himself,  the  other  would  charge  the 
premises  at  full  gallop,  leading  the 
horse  of  the  other  and  making  as  much 
noise  as  possible. 

The  men  in  the  hous-e  would  invaria- 
bly flee  from  the  back  door,  and  the  one 
concealed  would  let  fly  the  double  char- 
ged contents  of  his  shot-gun  into  them. 

Such  running  and  screaming  as  were 
heard  on  that  occasion.  Eight  notches 
were  filed  on  our  pistols  as  a  result  of 
that  night's  raid. 

After  breakfast;  at  Frank  Oliver's,  we 
went  up  Gove  Creek,  and  when  near  the 
old  Barker  place,  we  met  Captains  Shan- 
non and  Crouch,  with  their'  companies. 

Prior  to  our  union  with  these  compa- 
nies, they  had  learned  that  an  emigrant 
train  bound  north,  guarded  by  a  compa- 


162 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


ny  of  cavalry,  was  on  the  main  wire  road 
robbing  Southern  families  as  they  went; 
and  we  decided  to  put  a  stop  to  their 
mischief. 

We  went  down  the  I'oad  and  met  their 
ad  vance  near  the  Jack  Oliver  place.  W(3 
halted  and  ihey  fell  back  to  the  main 
command.  They  slowly  advanced  and 
we  as  slowly  fell  back  in  front  of  them, 
all  the  while  warning  them  to  cea^e 
their  robbing.  About  four  miles  from 
where  we  met  them,  they  camped  for  the 
night  and  threw  out  their  pickets.  We 
camped  also  and  placed  our  pickets,  or 
rear  guard,  within  150  yards  of  theirs. 

During  this  time  not  a  gun  had  been 
fired.  On  the  following  morning  they 
bagun  their  advance  and  we  continued 
to  fall  back,  keeping  our  rear  guard  well 
in  sight  of  them. 

Their  ca;ptain,  who  was  a  pompous  in- 
dividual^ frequently  rode  up  and  chal- 
enged  us  to  battle;  but  we  were  not  yet 
ready.  We  reached  the  foot  of  the  Bos- 
ton m5untai....;  f^^rmed  ourselves  in  am- 
bush anr  '  heir  coming.  .Soon  a 
scout  t  they  had  taken  a 
road  eek. 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


1G3 


We  hurriedly  left  our  ambush  and 
hastened  to  reach  the  other  road^beforc 
they  should  pass  tiie  point  where  we 
meant  to  he  in  wait  for  them. 

We  reached  this  place— where  the  road 
winds-  up  the  steepest  part  -of  tim 
mountain,  and  ft)rms  a  2-  Along  the 
main  stem. of  this  letter,  an  old  tree  had 
fallen,  some  fifteen  feet  from  the  road, 
forming  a  most  perfect  barricade,  as  well 
as  a  splendiel  hiding  place.  The  road 
ascended  from  a  dark  dismal  hollow  and 
as  we  were  placing  ourselves  in  position 
we' could  plainly  hear  the  advance  of  the 
Federals  as  they  struck  the  foot  of  the 
hill.  Eighty-four  of  us  were  secreted 
behind  that  log,  and  waited,  hardly  dar- 
ing to  breathe,  lest  w^e  be  discovered  hj 
the  advance,  Vvdiich  w^e  meant  to  let 
pass.  Soon  it  came  abreast  of  us,  the 
captain  in  their  midst.  One  man  was 
holding  to  his  horse's  tail,  kicking  it  and 
saying:  '^Go  on;  damn  you;  I  wish  you 
were  in  hell."  "Hush,''  said  a  com- 
rade, ^^or  you'll  be  there  in  five  mmutes 
for  I'll  bet  them  damned  bush-v/hackers 
are  around  here  now." 

This  remark  caused  him  to  glance  in 


164  WAR  SKETCHES.  j 

the  direction  of  the  log,  and  he  discov-' 
ered  us.  He  gave  the  alarm,  but  too 
late.  84  guns  belched  forth  their  dead- 
ly missies  full  in  the  faces  of  the  dozen 
men  in  front,  and  every  man  and  horse 
went  down  to  rise  no  more. 

From  our  cover  we  charged  headlong 
down  the  hillside  full  into  the  confused 
company  below.  This  sudden  and  un-' 
looked  for  appearance  threw  them  into 
the  wildest  disorder/  and  they  broke  pell 
mell  down  thel'oad. 

For  over  two-hundred  yards  we  pur- 
sued, using  the  deadly  revolver  with 
telling  effect.  On  our  return  we  counted 
37  men  killed  and  a  number  wounded, 
while  v/e  did  not  have  a  man  even 
scratched. 

We  returned  to  our  horses,  passing  by 
where  the  dead  advance  guard  lay;  every 
particle  of  hair  was  cut  from  the  mane 
and  tail  of  the  captain's  milk-white 
horse,  and  carried  off'-as  souvenirs.  The 
captain  had  been  hit  by  no  less  than  a 
dozen  bullets. 

V/e  reached  our  horses,  Vvdiich  had 
beei'  br  ched  at  the  top  of  the  mountain 
aad       ■  :  dv'^        up  the  arms  and  ac- 


WAK  SKETCHES.  165 

coutrements,  we  sought  a  ca^iip  for  the 
oight. 

\¥e  reached  Cove  Creek,  mtending  to 
camp  somewhere  near  Camp  Beaver 
Pond,  vvdien  we  met  Frank  Oliver  who 
told  us  that  a  sutler's  train,  under  heavy 
guard,  was  passing  down  the  road  in  the 
direction  of  Van  Buren. 

¥/ e  all  felt  good  over  our  recent  suc- 
cess, and  we  determined  to  capture  the 
sutler's  train. 


167 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

We  ascertained  that  the  number  of 
men  protecting  the  wagons  amounted  to 
something  like  250,  but  such  odds  were 
scarcely  ever  thought  of  when  such  rich 
^ ^contraband''  goods  as  a  sutler's  train 
were  to  be  the  result  of  the  capture. 

So  without  camping  for  rest  or  refresh- 
ments we  immediately  took  up  the  line 
of  march  intending  to  fall  on  them  some 
where  near  the  Widow  Allen  place  on 
Lees  creek.  We  divided  the  forces  at 
our  command,  making  44  infantry,  un- 
der command  of  Capt.  Shannon,  and  44 
cavalry  under  command  of  Capt.  Crouch 
1  was  among  the  dismounted.  We  made 
a  wide  detour  around  them  intending  to 
come  in  on  their  advance  while  the  cav- 
alry fell  on  their  rear.  1 

The  Widow  Allen  house  was  a  strong 
log  house,  and  prior  to  this  time  we  had 
built  a  stout  ^ ^staked  and  ridered"  fenci 
around  the  premises,  and  it  was  to  thil 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


166 


house  we  hurried.  Just  as  we  were  en- 
tering the  house  the  advance  guard  came 
in  sight  and  immediately  charged  us. 

Of  the  44  all  but  Tom  Vinsant,  Capt. 
Shannon  and  myself  got  safely  into  the 
house,  and  seeing  the  impossibility  of 
our  doing  so,  we  took  refuge  behind  a 
huge  ash-hopper  which  stood  near  the 
north-west  corner  of  the  house. 
^  We  succeeded  in  repulsing  the  charge 
and  they  retired  to  where  they  had  form- 
ed for  the  first  charge.  They  made  the 
second  charge,  seeming  determined  to 
ride  over  the  strong  fence,  forcing  tl  tir 
horses  sheer  against  the  rails.  From  ev- 
ery crack  and  crevicein  the  old  log  house 
came  a  deadly  stream  of  leaden  hail 
w^hich  compelled  the  enemy  to  retreat  the 
second  time. 

To  the  three  of  us  outside  it  was  very 
uncomfortable,  and  when  we  saw  they 
were  going  to  attempt  a  flank  movement, 
it  appeared  as  though  we  were  certain  of 
death.  Capt.  Shannon  then  told  Vin- 
sant  and  myself  that  our  only  chance  of 
safety  lay  in  our  turning  that  flank,  or  at 
least  preventing  its  approach.  This,  to 
me,  was  the  most  perilous  undertaking 


168 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


of  the  wliole  war,  and  i  ielt  my  hair  raise 
oil  my  head  several  times  as  we  dodged 
from  tree  to  tree^  the  balls  of  the  enemy 
knocking  the  bark  in  our  faces  or  whistl- 
ing uncomfortably  close  to  our  ears. 

We  succeeded  in  checking  and  finally 
driving  back  tne  flanking  party,  while 
those  in  the  house  repulsed  the  third 
charge  of  the  enemy's  cavalry,  .  which 
was  the  fiercest  of  the  three.  With  wild 
yells  and  cracking  carbines  they  drove 
their  horses  against  the  heavily  ridered 
fence,  seemingly  trying  to  ride  over,  but 
the  hot  fire  from  the  house  drove  them 
in  disorder  to  a  thicket  something  like 
150  yards  from  us,  where  the  officers 
attempted  to  rally  the  now  thoroughly 
demoralized  men. 

At  this  moment  our  cavalry  charged 
them  from  an  unexpected  quarter.  The 
enemy  threw  down  their  guns  and  fied, 
hotly  pursued  by  our  boys. 

It  was  a  veritable  slaughter  from  there 
until,  exhausted,  the  Southerners  gave 
up  the  chase. 

While  the  fight  was  in  progress  the 
train  had  stopped  something  like  1-4  of 
a  mile  in  the  rear,  but  on  the  approach 


WAR  SKETCHES 


169 


of  our  cavalry,  the  drivers  sought  safety 
in  flight,  leaving  the  wagons  and  their 
contents  to  the  mercy  of  their  captors. 

After  the  chase  was  over  we  sumoied 
up  the  damages  to  the  Federals  and 
found  that  81  of  their  number  had  paid 
the  penalty  for  their  rashness,  while  our 
loss  amounted  to  not  a  man  either  killed 
or  wounded. 

We  took  the  wagons  and  started  for 
the  mountains,  and  feasted  hugely  on 
the  eatable  contents.  On  this  occasion 
I  tasted  my  first  oysters.  I  had  eaten 
but  little  foi'  the  past  few  days,  and  my 
apetite  was  keen  as  the  winter  winds,  so 
when  I  chanced  to  get  hold  of  a  can  of 
the  succulent  bivalves,  I  hastily  put  the 
contents  out  of  sight,  and  thought  them 
the  daintiest  morsel  I  had  ever  tasted. 
Since  that  time,  however,  my  aversion 
to  this  food  has  been  pronounced,  and  I 
can  hardly  bear  the  sight  of  them. 

With  the  wagons  we  left  the  main 
road  and  took  to  the  woods,  in  order  to 
avoid  pursuit,  or,  at  least  to  delay  it  as 
long  as  possible.  Quite  a  lot  of  whiskey 
was  in  the  train  load  and  the  boys  begun 
to  guzzle  it  down  in  a  way  that  would 

■ 


170 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


make  a  toper  jealous  and  an  abstainer 
heartsick.  Soon  the  evidences  of  inebri- 
ety began  to  show,  and  it  was  not  long 
until  not  a  dozen  sober  men  remained. 
It  seemed  for  awhile  that  every  man  in 
the  command  was  dead  drunk,  and  grave 
fears  w^ere  entertained  lest  the  enemy 
would  suddenly  surprise  us  while  the 
men  were  in  this  maudliii  state,  and  ut- 
terly annihilate  us.  Nothing  would 
have  been  easier. 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


171 


CHAPTER  XXL 

We  remained  in  this  mountain  camp 
for  a  few  days,  when  Capt.  Wright  call- 
ed for  volunteers  to  accompany  him  to 
his  home.  Peevyhouse,  Jim  Marlow, 
Columbus  Basham,  Jack  Goterell  and 
myself  were  the  volunteers. 

Our   rendezvous   was   east  of  where 
Chester  now  stands,   some  three  or  four 
miles,  in  the  mountain  fastness  of  Frog 
Bayou.    We  reached  Capt.  Wright's  res- 
idence without  any  adventure,  where  we 
partook  of  a  most  excellent  supper,  in- 
tending, as  I  thought,  to  return  to  the 
s^icinity  of  our  rendezvous  that  night. 
Dapt.  Wright  decided,  however,  that  we 
^ould  spend  the  night  at  a  house  a  mile 
)r  so  distant  from  his  home.  I  protested 
igainst  this  arrangement,     1  felt  inllj 
convinced  that  we  were  '^running amuck 
>f  danger."    Some  external  influence,  I 
:now  not  what,  seemed  to  tell  me  that 
rouble  was  in  store  for  us,  and  I  used 


172 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


my  utmost  endeavors  to  dissuade  the 
boys  from  what  I  considered  a  rash  step. 
My  entreaties  were  met  with  good-na- 
tured jibes  and  jeers,  the  boys  calling 
me  ''granny/'  '^coward/'  *'baby"  and 
such  other  pet  names.  Finally  I  told 
them  I  could  go  where  they  could,  and 
we  set  out  for  the  place,  as  Wright  seem- 
ed determined,  and  I  would  not  leave 
him  as  we  were  bed-fellows. 

Arriving  at  the  place  I  hobbled  my 
mule  some  distance  from  the  house,  as  1 
was  determined  the  Federals  should  not 
capture  him.  Peevyhouse,  Basham, 
Marlow  and  'Coterell  deposited  them- 
selves on  the  floor  of  the  w^est  room, 
while  Wright  and  I  made  our  bed  in  the 
hall,  which  ran  north  and  south  through 
the  house.  After  getting  our  bed  ready 
I  pulled  of  my  boots — a  new  pair  of 
cavalry  boots,  recently  presented  to  me 
by  Martha  Dyer  who  carried  them  from 
Cassville,  Mo.,  concealed  under  her 
clothing- — and  threw  them  away.  My 
presentiment  of  impending  trouble  had 
not  abated  in  the  least,  and  I  told 
Wright  I  intended  to  save  the  boots 
when  the  boomers  killed  us.      At  this, 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


173 


Wriglit  siezed  and  rolled  mo  around  tlie 
floor  to  his  heart's  content,  as  I  was 
moody  and  depressed,  and  did  not  have 
energy  enough  to  resent  anything. 

As  th.e  night  advanced  m}^  presenti- 
ment grew  to  almost  a  certainty.  I 
would  lie  on  my  back  for  a  time  and 
watch  the  sjuth  approach,  then  turn  on 
my  face  and  v/atch  the  north.  As  I  lay 
thus  watching,  I  saw  the  dim  outline 
of  a  man,  then  another  and  still  another, 
until  several  had  apparently  risen  out 
of  the  2:round.  Thev  seemed  to  be 
peering  into  the  house  to  ascertain  our 
exact  number  and  location  before  attack- 
ing us.  I  awoke  Wright  and  informed 
him  that  the  enemy  were  surroundiiig 
the  house.  He  slipped  into  the  room 
and  awoke  the  other  boys  and  they  came 
out  into  the  hall  where  I  was  and  Mar- 
ler,  Basham  and  Capt.  Wright  formed" 
on  one,  side  of  the  hall  while  Pevehouse, 
Coterell  and  myself  formed  on  the  other 
side.  While  we  three  were  consulting 
as  to  the  best  method  of  escape,  Wright, 
Marler  and  Basham  disappeared  as  mys- 
teriously as  though  the  ground  had 
opened  and  swallowed  them.    We  three 


174 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


formed  one  behind  the  other,  I  in 
lead,  a  revolver  in  each  hand,  our 
termination  being  to  simply  force 
way  through  the  cordon  of  boomers  thIF 
surrounded  us.  We  had  scarcely  star 
ed  when,  on  reaching  the  west  corner  < 
the  house,  we  saw  it  was  hopejess  to  a 
tempt  to  escape  in  that  direction. 
stopped  and  I  stepped  back  bet  wee 
Peevy  and  Coterell,  speaking  first  to  on 
and  then  to  the  other. 

While  standing  thus,  discussing  th 
best  method  of  escape,  Capt.  Bealer  oi 
dered  his  men  to  fire,  at  the  same  tim 
discharging  his  own  weapon,  the  ba] 
from  which  struck  my  upraised  pistol 
cutting  a  notch  out  of  my  thumb  an* 
knocking  the  pistol  against  my  face  v/itl 
such  force  as  to  bruise  it.  For  a  tim 
1  was  staggered  by  the  blow  but  sooji 
recovered  and  we  decided  that  our  onbl 
chance  of  escape  lay  in  the  opposite  di 
rection. 

Accordingly  we  about  faced  and  startl 
ed  in  a   south-easterly   direction  witi! 
Peevyhouse  in  the  lead,  Coterell  behinc 
and  I  in  the  center.    Capt.  Bealer  kep  j 
yelling  at  his  men  to  ^'give  them  h— 1 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


175 


boys;  shoot -them  down.  Take  hold  of 
them;  don't  let  them  get  away/ '  and 
such  swearing  I  never  heard  before.  At 
times  men  had  hold  of  me  on  each  side, 
endeavoring  to  pull  me  both  ways,  but 
I  managed  to  knock  and  shoot  them  off. 

Suddenly  Bealer  sprang  between  Pee- 
yj^house  and  I,  shooting  rapidly  at  Pee- 
vyhouse  and  exclaiming:  ''G— d  d— n 
you,  I'll  learn  3'ou—"  the  remainder  of 
his  sentence  being  lost  in  the  report  of 
his  pistol. 

All  at  once,  with  the  growl  of  a  tiger 
at  bay,  Peev}' house  whirled  and  with  his 
revolver  within  two  feet  of  the  captain's 
breast,  fired.  Bealer,  with  an  exclama- 
tion of  anguish  and  a  cry  for  mercy  on 
his  lips,  fell  backward  with  his  head  be- 
tween my  feet.  I  sprang  backward  to 
to  avoid  his  falling  against  me,  and 
struck  Coterell:  He  had  seen  the  man 
fall  and  thought  it  was  Peevyhouse,  and 
believing  I  was  wounded,  concluded  it 
was  time  to  get  away.  Accordingly  he 
broke  to  run  to  his  right  when  he  came 
in  violent  contact  with  one  of  the  ene- 
my, and  both  fell  to  the  ground.  His 
opponent  immediatdly  sprang  up,  and  I 


176 


WAR  t 


TCKES. 


coul  d  see  the  flash  of  the  pistols  as  they 
were  fired  at  him  as  he  lay  prone  upon 
the  ground.  I  thought  him  killed,  so  I 
turned  to  look  for  Peevyhouse,  but  he 
had  vanished  as  though  in  thin  air.  I 
could  not  see  him.  anywhere,  and  of 
course  thought  him  killed. 

I  now  thought  of  m3'self  and  looked 
for  a  place  of  exit  from  the  seemingly 
solid  wall  of  Federals  that  encompassed 
me.  Near  the  eastern  corner  of  the 
fence  was  the  only  place  that  seemed  tS 
^  afford  the  means  of  egress  from  the  no\n 

thoroughly  uncomfortable  position  I  oc-l 
cupied,  and  to  this  part  I  slowly  direct-l 
ed  my  steps,  hoping  thus  not  to  direct! 
their  attention  to  myself. 

Just  as  I  had  reached  the  fence  and 
placed  my  hand  on  the  top  rail  to  leap 
over,  Shelton  Chastain,  who  had  been 
concealed  in  the  outside  corner^  fired 
point-blank  in  my  face  at  a  distance  of 
not  over  three  or  four  feet.  The  flash  of 
the  carbine  and  the  close  proximity  of 
the  ball,  completely  blinded  me  for  the 
nonce  and  it  was  some  minutes  before  I 
could  recover  my  equilibrium.  I  was 
now  thoroughly  aroused  and  would  have 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


177 


dealt  the  fellow  a  death  blow,  but  on 
looking  for  him  could  not  discover  his 
whereabouts.  He  had  suddenly  de- 
camped. 

1  then  decided  it  was  time  to  get  away 
and  made  an  effort  to  do  so,  but,  fortun- 
ately for  me,  struck  my  foot  against 
some  obstacle  and  fell  to  the  ground  just 
in  time  to  avoid  a  volley  fired  at  me. 
Another  and  still  another  was  fired,  and 
for  a  time  the  bullets  litte rally  rained 
over  my  prostrate  body. 

As  soon  as  there  was  cessation  of  the 
firing  I  arose  and  ran  in  the  direction  of 
the  branch,  leaping  over  the  high  clay 
bank,  a  volly  of  balls  whistling  uncom- 
fortably close  to  my  head.    I  crawled  up 
the  branch  to  the  heavy  timber  on  the 
?  hillside   immediately   in   front   of  the 
^  house,  where  I  sat  down  by  a  large  tree. 
1  .  While   sitting   here  debating   in  my 
'  nind  what  course  was  best  to  pursue,  I 
'  leard  a  crashing  through  the  brush  be- 
'  :ween  me  and  the  house  like  the  sound 
^  3f  stampeded   cattle,    and  a  shower  of 
'  3ullets  was  sent  in  its  direction.  The 
'  )Yee  against  which  I  was  sitting  received 
^  I  large  share  of  the  balls,  and  I  decided 


178 


WAK  sketch::; 


it  a  little  too  conspicuous^  so  I  managed 
to  worm  myself  to  tU.e  opposite  of  the. 
tree  and  straitened  alongside  of  its  trunk 
just  as  Jack  Coterell  came  dashing  by. 

'•Hello,  Jack;  is  that  you?"  I  asked. 

''Why,  my  God,  Bill;  is  it  possible? 
I  thought  you  were  killed/'  he  replied, 
and  he  actually  hugged  me  in  the  exhu- 
berance  of  his  joy. 

We  watched  the  enemy  as  they  tied 
their  mortally  wounded  captain  on  a 
horse,  and  prepared  to  leave.  Soon  they 
were  on  the  move,  but  were  not  100 
yards  from  the  premises  before  Coterell 
and  I  were  on  the  ground  looking  for 
Peevyhonse. 

We  persistently  searched  for  him  all 
over  the  ground  of  the  recent  conflict, 
even  getting  dowm  on  our  knees  and 
looking  through  the  tall  grass  for  the 
body,  as  we  supposed  him  dead. 

After  a  fruitless  search  of  an  hour  or 
two,  we  abandoned  the  task  and  left  for 
Gapt.  Wright's  house,  where  we  found 
the  remainder  of  the  boys,  who  thought 
us  killed  or  captured. 

We  waited  patiently  all  day  and  night 
for  Peevyhouse  to  put  in  appearance, and 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


179 


as  lie  failed  to  do  so  we  were  preparing 
to  make  a  thorough  search  for  his  body 
On  the  morning  of  the  second  day,  as  we 
were  making  final  preparations  to  look 
for  him,  I  saw  him  slowly  hobbling 
through  the  orchard  toward  the  house. 

I  immediately  ran  to  him  to  assist 
him.  Soon  after  his  arrival  he  gave  com- 
pletely down,  and  could  not  walk  a  step. 
The  indomitable  spirit  that  had  sustain- 
ed him  for  the  past  36  hours  gave  way 
and  he  was  utterly  helpless. 


180 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

We  carried  him  to  the  big  spring,  on 
the  point  of  the  mountain  between  Capt. 
Wright's  home  and  the  Frog  Bayou. 

Here  he  lay  for  three  weeks  while  we 
applied  wet  bandages  to  his  painful 
wounds.  After  comfortably  arranging 
him  at  the  spring,  we  learned  the  history 
of  his  adventures  on  that  night  for  the 
first  time. 

When  Bealer  sprang  in  between  he 
and  I,  and  he  felt  the  sting  of  the  bul- 
lets, he  fell,  after  shooting  his  antago- 
nist, suffering  intense  agony  from  the 
painful  wounds  in  his  limbs.  His  right 
leg  was  paralyzed  by  the  shot  and  he 
was  to  move  only  as  he  lifted  the  limb 
with  his  hand.  As  soon  as  the  shooting 
had  somewhat  abated,  he  succeeded  in 
crawling  to  the  branch  where  he  remain- 
ed until  the  enemy  had  gone,  when  he 
managed  to  crawl  to  a  ledge  of  rock  over- 
looking the  branch,  where  he  concealed 


WAR  SKETCHES. 

himself  until  near  morning.  He  had 
drawn  himself  up  over  the  overhanging 
ledge  and  ensconsed  himself  in  a  nest  of 
tangled  grapevines  when  he  heard  the 
sound  of  two  men  approaching  on  foot, 
apparently  to  the  very  spot  where  he  lay 
concealed. 

Cocking  both  his  weapons  he  remain- 
ed perfectly  quiet^  intending  if  discover- 
ed to  sell  out  as  dearly  as  possible.  The 
t\yo  passed  within  two  feet  of  him,  hov/- 
ever,  without  discovering  him.  Fearing 
hcAvould  be  found  if  he  remained  there 
he  succeeded  in  reaching  a  dense  copse, 
where  he  concealed  himself  during  the 
day. 

When  the  night  again  descended,  he 
slowly  and  painfully  made  his  way  to 
the  hill,  and  commenced  his  excruciating 
journey  of  a  mile  and  a  half  to  Captain 
Wright's  house.  Every  step  was  fraught 
with  deepest  agony,  the  painful  wounds 
receiving  no  attention  during  all  this 
time  except  the  rude  bandages  the  suf- 
ferer could  make  from  tearing  his  shirt 
in  pieces. 

Only  by  exerting  all  his  determination 
and  will  power,  had  he  been  enabled  to 


182 


VVAK  SKETCHES. 


move.  All  the  long  and  weary  nighti 
was  occupied  in  the  journey,  and  just  as 
the  morning  sun  kissed  the  hill  tops  with 
her  first  rays,  he  came  to  the  creek  in 
sight  of  Gapt.  Wright's  house.  Sore,^ 
tired  and  thirsty,  he  lay  down  and  took 
a  long  draught  of  the  clear,  sweet  waterj 
Seeing  the  men  gathered  around  the 
house,  he. mistook  them  for  the  federals,; 
and  decided  to  walk  boldly  up  and  sell 
out  as  dearly  as  possible. 

When  he  found  they  were  friends  in^ 
stead  of  enemies,  his  courage,  which  had 
hitherto  borne  him  up,  gave  way,  and  he 
was  completely  helpless.  ^ 

However,  we  brought  him  around  al. 
right,  and  in  three  weeks  he  was  in  the 
saddle,  ready  for  the  performance  of  any 
task  as  trying  as  the  one  through  whicl: 
he  had  just  passed. 

About  this  time  vv-e  learned  of  th( 
p]'esence  in  Van  Buren  of  a  number  o; 
Federal  artillery  horses,  and  we  deter: 
mined  to  deprive  the  eiiernyof  tb.esevai 
liable  adiuncts  to  tlie  service. 

Accordingly  vfe  moved  in  the  dire 
of  that  place,  and  camrKn]  in  Pine  Ho 
low,  some  four  miles  fv'^jiri  tov;n. 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


183 


The  Federal  camp  was  on  college  hill, 
just  east  of  the  ferry,  and  the  horses  were 
tied  to  a  chain-row.  Several  of  us  went 
into  town  that  night  to  get  the  horses. 

The  boys  in  blue  were  tripping  the 
light  fantastic  toe  to  the  dulcet  strains  of 
some  sv/eet  toned  instrument,  and  some 
of  the  boys  in  gray  went  in  and  joined 
them  in  their  festivities.  I  was  placed 
at  the  door  to  watch  and  give  v/arning 
should  suspicion  be  aroused.  Borne  of 
the  boys  went  out  to  v/here  the  horses 
were  hitehed~—the  guard  was  interested 
in  the  terpsichorean  display  Vsdthin,  and 
did  not  think  of  danger  lurldng  near — 
and  would  untie  the  first  and  tie  it  to 
the  tail  of  the  second,  and  this  to  the 
tail  of  the  third,  and  this  to  the  fourth, 
and  so  on  until  the  whole  string,  save 
one  left  for  me,  were  ready  to  move. 

At  a  signal  the  captors  began  to  as- 
cend the  hill  north  of  where  the  federals 
were  camped.  I  left  my  post  as  watcher 
and  took  the  remaining  horse,  a  large 
iron  gray,  and  placed  myself  as  rear 
guard.  Soon  the  loss  of  the  horses  was 
discovered,  and  then  there  was  hurrying 
to  and  fro.      The  enemy   began  what 


1^4:  WAK  SKETCHES. 

promised  to  be  a  hot  .pursuit.  BuUets 
began  flying  around  us  thick  and  fast, 
and  my  position  as  rear  guard  was  any- 
thing but  pleasant.  I  never  lay  closer 
to  an  animal  in  my  life  than  I  did  to  that 
big  grav  of  the  Federal  artillery.  I  was 
placed  in  that  peculiar  attitude  in  which 
my  only  alternative  was  to  go  ahead, and 
I  felt  each  moment  as  if  the  next  I  woulJ 

feel  a  ball'in  my  back. 

However,  I  escaped  injury,  and  att_ 
pursuing  us  a  short  distance  the  enem 
gave  up  the  chase  and  returned  to  towi 
and   doubtless  to  the  dance,  while  - 
went  on  to  camp  with  our  horses. 

As   was  customary    the  horses  wej 
put  up  and  sold  to  the  highest  bidd.' 
and  I  bought  the  big  gray  that  I  h 
ridden  on  the  night  of  the  capture, 
afterwards  gave  the  horse  to  a  lady  w 
was  refugeeing  south.  I  had  also  honf 
a  mule  at  the  same  sale,  and  I  dispo 
of  him  in  the  same  manner,  and  at 
same  time. 

Fu:  some  time  past  my  wardrobe^ 
saown  siOTs  of  decay,  in  fact  was  i 
x-nowbio  dilapidated  condition,  an 
r.!olnlv  evident  that  T  wouldhf 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


185 


secure  more  clothing.      Cyntha  Lester 
proposed  to  make  the  garments  for  me  if 
I  would  get  the  material.  Accordingly, 
I  went  to  Van  Buren  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  the  stuff.      I   rode  boldly  into 
town  and  up  to  the  back  door  of  Heard 
and  Vinsant's  building,  which  joined  the 
Hinkle  building,    After  tying  my  horse, 
I  entered  the   store.      A    woman  who 
knew  me  well,  and  had  nursed  me  whea' 
I  was  a  little  child,  but  who  was  ultra - 
Northern  now,   was  trading  at  the  coun- 
ter. 

On  seeing  me  she  immediately  ceased 
ler  purchasing  and  began  to  tremble.  I 
saw  that  suspicion  might  be  ^aroused,  as 
die  merchant  was  first  glancing  at  the 
luaking  woman  and  then  at  are,  so,  to 
livert  attention  as  much  as  possible,  1 
)egan  to  call  for  the  goods  I  wanted,  at 
he  same  time  covertly  watching  the  evi- 
l-ently  hostile  female. 

She  soon  walked  Qut  of  the  house,  and 
n  the  direction  of  the  provost  marshal's 
)ffice,  which  was  in  a  little  red  brick  im- 
aediately  in  front  of  the  court  house. 

I  stepped  to  the  door  and  as  soon  as  I 
aw  her  enter  his  office  I  knew  her  er- 


186 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


rand.  She  meant  to  report  my  presence 
in  the  town.  Matters  began  to  assume, 
a  somewhat  squally  aspect,  but  I  was! 
determined  not  to  run  until  compelled^ 
to  do  so.  So  1  cjuietly  paid  for  my  pur- 
chases, tied  the  package  to  my  saddle, 
mounted  and  rode  around  the  Hinklej 
building  into  main  street  and  stopped 
for  a  few  moments  and  watched  in  the 
direction  of  the  provost  marshal's  office.- 
Seeing  no  one  appToaching,  I  took  up 
the  hollow  in  the  dn'ection  of  the  old 
mill,  passing  several  Federal  soldiers  on- 
my  route,  crossing  the  branch  just  to  the 
right  of  where  the  widow  Houck  nowi 
lives,  taking  a  trail  up  the  mountain 
that  put  me  m  the  main  road  just  east, 
of  the  Rose,  place,  on  top  of  the  hill  over-^ 
looking  the  town. 

I  rode  to  the  bluff  west  of  the  Kosej 
place  and  stopped,  as  I  had  a  curiosity 
to  know  what  would  be  the  outcome  of 
the  woman's  report.  Soon  I  saw  sol-, 
diers  enter  the  store  in  which  I  had  trad-; 
ed.  They  remained  for  some  time  and; 
then  returned  to  the  marshal's  office 
without  their  prisoner,  of  course.  I  af- 
terward learned  that  they  arrested  the 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


187 


merchant  and  incarcerated  him  in  prison 
for  some  time  for  trading  with  me. 

Being  satisfied  that  the  soldiers  whom 
I  had  passed  would  report  the  direction 
I  had  taken,  I  turned  my  horse's  head 
and  rode  to  Mrs.  Brown's  near  Pine  Hol- 
low. Here  I  found  Mrs.  Nancy  Moore, 
an  ardent  and  fearless  Southern  woman. 
To  her  I  unfolded  my  plans  for  the  cap- 
ture of  Col.  Bowen,  and  secured  from 
her  a  promise  to  act  as  my  courier  with 
,  a  message  to  Gen.  Thayer,  then  in  com- 
mand at  Fort  Smith.  I  knew  her  part 
of  the  matter  would  be  faithfully  and 
fearlessly  kept,  so  fearing  the  proximity 
of  searching  parties  of  Federals,  1  turned 
my  horse  in  the  direction  of  Frog  Bayou 
and  hastily  rode  to  Capt.  Wright's. 

I  delivered  the  goods  to  Cynthia  Les- 
thr,  and  she  promised  to  have  them 
ready  for  me  soon.  I  then  returned  to 
Camp  Wright. 


188 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  XXIII, 

At  this  time  our  command  consisted 
of  Maiiin's,  Wright's  and  Whitson's 
companies,  Captain  Wright  in  command. 
About  3  o'clocl^  one  afternoon  I  called 
for  volunteers  to  go  to  Van  Buren  and 
capture  Col.  Tom  Bo  wen,  who  was  in 
command  of  the  U.  S.  forces  at  that 
place.  My  object  in  capturing  Col. Bow- 
en  was  to  hold  him  as  an  exchange  for 
John  Norwood  and  others  who  were  at 
that  time  under  sentence  of  death  at  Ft, 
Smith;  also  to  better  the  condition,  if  pos- 
sible, of  the  Southern  women  and  chil- 
dren in  that  section  of  the  country,  who 
were  being  robbed,  mistreated  and  im- 
prisoned upon  misrepresentations  of  de- 
signing parties  in  order  to  get  a  chance 
to  steal  what  they  had. 

Ten  men  volunteered  to  go  with  me. 
We  set  out  late  in  the  afternoon,  going 
by  way  of  Oliver  Springs,  then  struck 
south  through  the  woods  until  we  reach- 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


189 


ed  a  point  just  northeast  of  Van  Buren, 
and  from  1-4  to  1-2  a  mile  northeast  of 
Dr.  Thurston's  plabe,  in  some  timber  oh 
the  hillside.  By  this  thne  it  was  10 
o'clock  at  night.  Here  we  held  a  council 
of  war.  It  was  decided  to  raid  the  town 
on  foot  that  night,  and  find  out  what 
we  could.  I  called  for  volunteers  to 
guard  the  horses,  but  as  all  failed  to  re- 
spond we  all  went  to  town. 

On  reaching  town  we  went  to  some  of 
our  friends  and  learned  that  Col.  Bowen 
had  gone  to  Fort  Smith  in  answer  to  a 
summons  from  Gen.  Thayer.  We  did 
not  go  there  to  be  beat,  so  we  concluded 
to  see  the  sights.  It  was  so  interesting 
that  we  stayed  until  the  crowing  of  the 
chickens  admonished  us  that  the  bullet 
fever,  which  raged  at  times  in  that  place 
might  overtake  us  if  we  tarried  there  too 
long.  The  bo3^s  found  stray  horses  with 
U.S.  halters  on,  and  selected  17  of  the 
best  looking,  also  a  supply  of  pistols, and 
mounting,  retreated  in  good  order, reach- 
.  ing  our  rendezvous  at  daybreak. 

We  then  held  another  council  of  war 
-and  decided  to  send  our  surplus  stock  to 
the  command  and  await  developments. 


190 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


I  detailed  three  men  for  this  purpose,  then 
we  partook  of  a  hearty  meal  of  cold  vict- 
uals given  us  by  our  friends  in  town.  1 
then  detailed  a*man  to  go  to  the  highest 
point  of  the  mountain  northeast  of  town 
and  watch  for  Col.  Bo  wen,  as  this  posi- 
tion commanded  a  fair  view  of  the  ferry 
where  Bowen  must  cross  the  river,  when 
lie  could  be  easily  distinguished,  as  he 
rode  a  black  horse. 

I  then  took  one  man  and  went  down 
on  the  roadside  with  bridles  strapped  on 
our  shoulders  and  as  Union  soldiers 
came  along  we  enquired  for  stray  horses, 
representing  that  we  had  lost  ours.  Soon 
two  came  along  together,  and  when  we 
got  them  off  their  guard  held  them  up 
and  took  them  out  to  the  other  boys, 
then  went  back  to  the  road  and  held  up 
four  more  and  took  them  in.  Going  back 
again  to  the  road  the  first  man  that  came 
along  was  Esq.  Stephenson,  of  Flat  Rock 
Creek,  whom  we  escorted  to  the  bush  and 
introduced  him  to  the  boys,  one  of  whom 
exchanged  his  old  slouch  hat  for  the 
'Squire's  fine  beaver,  which  Stephenson 
kept  as  a  memento. 

One  of  our  prisonere  was  an  old  man 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


191 


Lbout  75  years  old,  and  yet  he  wore  the 
)lue.    I  approached  hin  and  said: 

''Old  man,  are  you  a  U.  S.  soldier? 
iTou  look  rather  old."    His  answer  was: 

^'Yes,  by  G— d.  '^ 

I  then  asked  him  why  he  enlisted  at 
inch  old  age.    He  said: 

''To  kill  such  d  d rebels  as  you/^ 

it  the  same  time  putting  on  a  vicious 
ook  and  gritting  his  teeth. 

About  this  time  our  picket  came  in 
ind  reported  that  Col.  Bowen  had  cross- 
)d  the  river  and  was  at  Dr.  Thurston's. 
L  detailed  four  men  to  take  the  priso  ners 
:o  the  command,  which  was  to  meet  us 
)n  the  mountain  west  of  (then)  Uncle 
Billy  Howard  place  above  Capt.  Winfry 
)n  Frog  Bayou.  There  being  but  four 
)f  us  left,  as  follows:  John  Covington, 
^else  Tingler,  Sol  Wagoner  and  myself. 
Ne  mounted  our  horses  and  slowly  rode 
lown  the  hill  until  we  reached  the  open 
ield.  This  field  had  laid  out  until  bush- 
is  from  4  to  6  or  8  feet  high  had  grown 
ip.  In  front  of  us  and  to  the  right  and 
3ft  could  be  seen  U.  S.  soldiers  by  the 
gore  under  the  shade  of  these  bushes, 
>me  playing  i^  ards,  some  playing  mum- 


192 


WAK  SKETCHES. 


ble-peg  and  some  asleep,  regardless  of 
war  or  war^s  alarm. 

The  situation  was  not  only  critical  but 
dangerous.  Could  we  even  entertain  a 
hope  of  succeeding  when  it  was  evident 
that  we  must  pass  through  this  mob  be- 
fore success  could  crown  our  efforts.  What 
must  we  do?  We  had  gone  too  far  to  turn 
back,  so  we  concluded  to  succeed  or  die 
in  the  attempt.  So  we  rode  on  slowly 
through  the  field  and  soon  began  to  pass 
blue  coats  on  either  side  of  us. 

Xow  was  the  critical  time  with  us,  for 
we  knew  that  our  safety  depended  on  our 
ability  to  deceive  our  enemies ^  so  we  be- 
gan singing,  whistling  and  knocking  each 
other's  hats  off,  to  the  deli<2:ht  of  the 
boys  in  blue.  We  kept  this  up  until  we 
reached  a  point  some  distance  west  of 
Dr.  Thurston's  residence.  Then  we  an- 
gled to  our  left,  bearing  south  until  we 
struck  the  road  loading  from  town,  out 
by  Dr.  Thurston's  place,  which  we  soon 
reached.  Instead  of  stopping  in  front  of 
the  house,  we  went  to  the  rear,  and  here 
we  found  Col.  Bowen's  fine  black  horse 
saddled  and  tied:  and  to  our  surpri-e  saw 
out  in  the  ed2:e'  of  the  orcliard  15  or  20 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


193 


U.  S.  soldiers  with  their  side  arms  on, 
carrying  apples  and  making  cider.  But 
they  did  not  seem  to  notice  us,  so  we  felt 
pretty  safe  and  turned  our  attention  to 
the  object  of  our  search. 

On  the  back  porch  I  met  Col.  Bowen's 
adjutant,  to  whom  I  spoke  as  polite  as  I 
knew  how.  and  enquired  for  Col.  Bo  wen. 
I  was  told  that  he  was  in  the  house,  but 
had  forbidden  the  admisiion  of  anyone. 
I  then  rode  up  to  the  porch  and  said: 
'^I  have  a  message  for  him,"  The  adju- 
tant said:  ''I  will  deliver  it."  I  told  him 
it  vras  a  verbal  one  and  must  be  delivered 
in  person  to  Col.  Bo  wen. 

He  shook  his  head,  stepped  up,  lai  1 
his  arm  an  my  horse's  neck  and  said: 

"My  friend,  I  cannot  let  you  in." 

Just  at  this  time  I  caught  him  by  the 
shoulder  and  gave  him  a  whirl  which 
forced  him  about,  and  before  he  could 
recover  I  was  on  the  porch  and  had  him 
covered  with  my  rifle.  By  this  time  my 
boys  had  dismounted  and  were  on  the 
porch.  1  then  demanded  to  know  where 
-the  Colonel  was,  and  he  pointed  to  a 
narrow  passway  w^hich  seemed  to  be  be- 
tween the  main   buildiug   and    a  small 


194 


WAK  SKETCHES. 


room  on  one  end  of  the  porch,  and  said: 
'Svhen  you  get  m  there  turn  to  the  left/' 
which  I  did,  leaving  him  and  the  boys 
on  the  porch.  When  I  reached  the  door 
I  saw  the  Col.  and  Miss  Maggie  Thurston 
sitting  close  together,  he  having  his  left 
arm  around  her  Avaist. 

I  saluted  the  Col.  and  he  asked  what 
I  would  have.  I  told  him  lo  consider 
himself  a  prisoner,,  vv  hich  seemed  to  sur- 
prise him  very  much:    Ho  said: 

''By  Yvhat  authority  do  you  demand 
my  surrender?'' 

i  replied:  ''By  the  autliority  vested 
in  me  by  the  Confederate  States  of 
.Vrnerica.'' 

He  then  surrendered,  and  after  search- 
ing him  for  arms  ordered  him  to  marcli 
ahead  of  me  out  to  where  the  boys  were, 
the  adjutant  having  escaped.  I  held 
him  by  the  shoulder  with  my  right  hand 
with  Miss  Mas:2:ie  followino^  close  on  mv 
heels.  Just  as  we  got  out  of  the  passage 
he  jerked  loose  from  me  and  tried  to 
make  a  break  for  liberty,  but  I  gave  him 
a  punch  in  the  side  with  my  rifle  whicli 
brought  him  to  time.  1  then  ordered  all 
to  mount,  and  put  the  Col.  on  my  horse 


WAE  SKETCH]  ;s. 


195 


fjiist  then  Miss  Maggie  made  a  break  for 
iiiiii  and  I  had  to  prevent  her  from  hold- 
ing him  back.  I  again  ordered  him  to 
amount,  which  he  did.  ■  Miss  Mao;o;ie,see- 
ling  that  slie  Avas  defeated,  with  prospects 
|Oi  losing  her  lover,  -  made  a  leap  into 
|the  air— it  seemed  to  me  -i  feet  high- 
fend  iell  to  the  gronnd  in  a  faint  as  if  she 
,^was  dead. 

I    After  nli  being  mounUd  we  fell  into 
fline.      \  i  w>mld  not  do  to  sheer  around 
Jthohc    feliows   making    cider   for  they 
hvouUl  at  once  open  lire  on  ns;  sol  order- 
|ed  a  diaic: and  we   flew  at  them.  All 
^^mbnt  thr^'C.  who  threw  up  their  hands 
and  (>eirged  tor  quarter „    I  ordered  them 
|disarmcd  wliich  was  (juickly  done.  Then 
lour  tliree  boys  conducted  the  prisoners  a 
Ishort  distance  to  where  there  were  some 
;^addled  horses  tied,  where  they  mounted 
the  prisoners  and  off  we  went  pell  mell 
through  the  orchard  and.„over  the  fence, 
^t  breakneck  speed. 

Just  on  the  outskirts  we  struck  the 
road  leading  to  Fayette ville.  Up  this 
^oad  v/e  almost  flew,  each  man  with  his 
pistol  drawn,  until  the  first  rocky  point 
kvas  reached,  wlien  I  ii*ave  a  short  whis- 


196 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


tie  when  our  rear  man  and  his  prisoner 
left  the  road,  and  then  another  until 
myself  and  the  Col.  Avere  left  alone.  On 
and  on  we  sped,  leaving  the  soldiers  and 
town,  now  in  a  state  of  confusion— beat- 
ing of  drums,  rallying  of  men  to  arms — 
far  behind. 

After  traveling  this  way  for  several 
miles  the  Col.  and  myself  left  the  road, 
traveling  slowly  through  the  woods,  over 
the  mountains,  crossing  Frog  Bayou  un- 
til we  finally  reached  our  companions, 
who  were  anxiously  waiting  us. 

I  introduced  Col.  Bowen  to  Captain 
Wright  and  turned  him  over.  I  found 
all  the  boys  had  reached  camp  safe  with 
their  horses,  prisoners  and  booty.  After 
we  had  been  in  camp  a  short  time  Col. 
Bowen  came  to  me  and  said  Wright  had 
agreed  to  parole  him  providing  he  would 
do  all  in  his  power  to  have  John  Norwood 
and  his  companions  set  at  liberty  .  I 
went  toCapt.  Wright  and  protested,  tell- 
ino;  him  that  we  had  risked  our  lives  to 
save  those  boys,  and  if  he  turned  Bowen 
loose  they  would  be  executed;  but  he 
seemed  to  think  not,  so  after  considera- 
ble parleying,  it  was  left  to  a  vote,  and 


r 

WAR  SKETCHES.  197 

]apt.  Wright  gained  his   point.  Col. 

Bowen  was  paroled  and  all  the  prisoners 
turned  loose. 

Bowen  got  ready  to  return  and  invit- 
ed me  to  go  with  him  part  of  the  way,  to 
which  1  agreed.  When  we  got  to  the 
Maxey  place  (now  Rudy)  I  thought  I 
had  gone  far  enough,  so  we  parted,  the 
Col.  going  ahead  after  hoisting  a  white 
flao\  bv  tviuo'  his  handkercheif  to  a  stick 
he  rode  in  a  sweeping  gallop  down  the 
road  toward  Van  Buren. 

As  Mrs,  Gorman  lived  at  the  Maxey 
house,  I  concluded  to  call  on  them,  so  I 
left  my  horse  at  the  front  gate.  Mrs. 
Gorman  met  me  at  the  door  and  said: 

''Save  3^ourself  by  flight,  for  it  has  not 
been  but  a  short  time  since  a  squad  of 
blue  coats  were  here  hunting  for  Colonel 
Bowen.'- 

I  got  to  my  horse  in  double  quick  and 
just  as  I  got  opposite  Capt.  Winfry's 
house,  I  heard  a  noise,  and  on  looking 
up,  I  saw  25  U.  S.  soldiers  formed  in 
line  across  the  road  about  75  yards  from 
ine,  coming  very  slow,  doubtless  to  steal 
a  march  on  me.  What  must  I  do?  I 
risked  it,  like  Paddy  did  his   soul,  and 


198 


halted  them  at  the  top  of  my  voice* 
They  stopped  and  enqui  red  who  I  was. 
I  replied^  ^*a  soldier/'  Then  one  of 
them  asked  how  many  there  were  of  us. 
1  said  ''one.^^ 

''Throw  down  your  arms/^  they  said. ' 
^^All  right//  said  I,  at  wliich  the}^  low- 
ered their  gims.  This  was  my  time,  so  I 
leveled  ray  gun,  fired  and  fled.  I  turn- 
ed to  the  right,  going  west  down  Capt. 
Winfry^s  fence,  aiming  to  cross  Frog 
Bayou  at  the  mouth  of  Cedar  creek.  I 
soon  found  that  I  could  not  cross  here  as 
they  had  cut  me  olF,'by  going  around  on 
the  north  side  of  the  premises. 

Finding  myself  cut  off  from  the  mouth 
of  Cedar  creek,  I  put  spurs  to  my  horse 
and  went  full  speed  pell  mell  over  the 
bank  into  Frog  Bayou,  where  I  suppose 
the  water  is  25  feet  deep.  On  that  occa- 
sion it  seemed  to  me  that  I  went  under 
50  feet.  My  horse  came  up  swimming, 
and  soon  we  were  on  terra  firma.  I  thejrj 
threw  down  the  fence  and  rode  into  the 
field,  it  being  in  corn. 

I  concealed  myself  in  the  corn  and 
watched  them.  I  could  hear  the  officer 
in  command  ordering  his  men  to  advance 


I  WAR  SKETCHES.  199 

and  show  no  quarters,  but  shoot  him 
down  on  sight. 

As  they  started  I  started  too,  throw- 
ing down  the  fence  and  going  to  the  west 
side  of  the  field.  Here  I  climbed  the 
mountain,  leading  my  horse.  There  was 
good  grass  at  the  top  of  the  mountain, 
so  I  pulled  the  bridle  off  my  horse  to  let 
him  graze  while  I  watched  those  fellows 
down  below,  in  their  vaLi  effort  to  fiuvl 
me.  From  here  I  could  look  down  on 
iny  pursuers  and  laugh  to  think  how 
badly  they  were  going  to  be  fooled.  No 
doubt  they  thought  they  had  me  in  a 
trap  from  which  I  could  not  escape;  but 
when  they  closed  in  on  me — 1  was  not 
there. 

Col.  Bowen,  true  to  his  promise,  did 
all  he  could  to  save  the  lives  of  the  boys 
for  whom  we  had  risked  so  much;  but 
they  were  barberously  executed  at  Fort 
Smith  by  order  of  Geu.  Thayer,  com- 
mander of  that  post.  The  execution  of 
these  young  men  shows  the  unholy  ways 
of  the  late  war.  John  Norwood,  the  eld- 
est of  the  ten,  was  but  19  years  of  age, 
the  others  being  from  16  to  18,  and  be- 
longed to  the  best  families  of  Washing- 


200 


WAB  SKETCHES. 


ton  county.  Their  homes  had  been  de- 
vastated by  the  invaders  when  they  took 
up  arms  and  fought  with  the 'rest.  Bra- 
ver boys  never  Hved,  Surrounded  in  a 
log  house  by  200  Federal  troops,  they 
fought  desperately,  inflicting  much  loss 
on  their  enemies,  finally  surrendering  on 
promise  of  being  treated  as  prisoners  of 
war,  which  promise  was  broken  by  Gen. 
Thayer. 

I  have  been  through  many  hard  and 
bloody  scenes,  where  many  gallant  com- 
rades were  haunched  into  eternity,  but 
nothing  ever  aflected  me  as  the  death  of 
these  companions  of  my  boyhood;  so 
brave,  so  true^  so  full  of  hope  and  prom- 
ise; killed  like  dogs  by  the  authorized 
agent  of  a  so-called  Christian  govern- 
ment. And  this  is  war,  of  which  I  want 
to  see- and  hear  no  more.  O,  would  tliat 
all  might  hail  the  day  of  Universal  Peace 
proclaimed  by  One  whom  many  profess, 
but  few^  follow:  ^^Peace  on  earth,  good 
will  to  men.'^ 


r 


WAR  S -v^iOHES. 


201 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

I  RODE  in  a  roundabout  way  up  Frog 
Bayou  to  where  John  Stewart  now  lives. 
Here  I  got  breakfast  and  followed  on 
after  the  enemy  and  learned  they  were 
intending  to  surprise  our  boys  in  camp. 

This  I  determined  should  not  be  done, 
so  when  they  turned  up  the  main  fork  of 
the  creek,  1  hurriedly  rode  around  them 
reached  the  camp  and  informed  the  boys 
of  the  proximity  of  the  enemy.  The 
company  was  soon  in  full  gallop  in  the 
direction  the  Feds  were  coming. 

A  suitable  place  being  found  we  form- 
ed an  ambush,  and  it  was  not  long  until 
the  unsuspecting  Yanks  rode  into  it. 
Like  the  furies  turned  loose,  we  sailed 
into  them,  and  so  demoralized  were  they 
that  they  hardly  knew  what  had  hap- 
pened. However,  they  sought  safety  in 
flight,  and  did  not  lessen  their  pace  until 
safe  within  the  confines  of  Van  Buren. 
\   Soon  after  this  Joe  Neely  told  me  that 


202 


vVAR  SKETCHES. 


Marlow's  and  Whitson's  companies  were 
going  to  have  a  sale  of  captured  stock, 
and  we  decided  to  buy  a  number  of 
horses  and  take  them  to  Texas.  We  went 
to  the  sale,  bought  the  horses  and  begun 
the  journey  Texas  ward;  but  disagreed 
about  the  division,  and  I  sold  out  to  him 
and  returned  to  Camp  Wright,  only  to 
find  the  company  gone.  I  then  went  to 
Gove  Creek,  intending  to  join  Captain 
Crouch. s  command,  but  met  Col  Marrow 
Tom  Mays,  Patton  Inks,  Harvey  Low 
and  a  man  named  Simpson,  and  we  de- 
cided to  try  our  luck  in  Van  Buren. 

We  jH'cordingly  set  out  and  camped  in 
Pine  Hollow.  Leaving'  our  horses  tied 
in  the  woods  about  three  miles  from 
town,  we  went  in  on  foot.  After  ap- 
pointinjA'  a  time  and  place  to  meet,  we 
proceeded  to  take  in  the  town,  and,  inci- 
dentally, quite  a  supply  of  arms,  amu- 
mtion  and  clothing.  Marrow  Avas  first 
to  reach  the  appointed  rendezvous. 

Wliile  waiting  for  us  to  come,  a  Fed- 
eral soldier  came  walking  by.  Marrow 
spoke  to  him,  thinking  it  one  of  us,  and 
betrayed  himself.  The  Federal  ^Svent 
for  his  gun,''  but  Marrow  drew  first  and 


WAR  Slii^iCHES. 


203 


the  Federal  was  compelled  to  lift  his 
hands.  Marrow  then  disarmed  him  and 
kept  him  until  we  all  came  up.  We  then 
took  our  prisoner  to  Pine  Hollow,  and, 
giving  him  his  arms  told  him  to  go  back 
to  Van  Buren.  He  refused  to  go,  giving 
as  a  reason  that  if  he  Avent  back  thus,  he 
would  be  subject  to  court-martial,  and 
he  begged  us  to  rob  him.  So  we  took 
his  arms,  hat,  coat  and  boots,  and  sent  a 
letter  to  Col.  Bowen. 
°  We  then  went  to  Capt.  Crouch's  camp 
and  found  the  company  on  the  eve  of 
moving  into  Washington  county,  in  re- 
sponse to  a  call  from  Col.  Brooks,  to  as- 
semble all  troops  possible  in  the  vicinity 
of  Fayetteville,  for  an  attack  on  that 
place.  We  joined  Col.  Brooks'  command 
and  made  a  furious  assault,  forcing  the 
enemy  to  retire  into  their  trenches.  We 
held  the  town  for  a  long  time  but  could 
not  dislodge  them  from  their  trenches,  as 
we  could  not  get  artillery.  . 

Col.  Brooks  then  detailed  me  with  a 
squad  of  12  men,  to  go  so  nth  of  the  Bos- 
ton mountain  and  intercept  any  couriers 
from  Fort  Smith,  who  might  attempt  to 
reach  the  beleaguered  forces. 


204 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


At  Beaver  Pond  Hill  we  stopped  and 
cut  the  telegraph  wire  for  a  mile  or  more 
and  with  the  wire  so  obtained,  we  con- 
structed a  fence  on  each  side  of  the  road 
about  300  yards  long.  At  about  the  cen- 
ter of  this  lane  we  placed  a  fence  of 
doubled  wire  across  the  road.  At  the 
opening  I  placed  six  men,  who  were  to 
open  fire  on  the  couriers  when  they 
reached  the  opening.  At  the  fence 
across  the  road  I  placed  the  remainder, 
who  were  to  fall  on  the  demoralized 
couriers  as  soon  as  they  should  strike  the 
wire  across  the  road. 

About  10  o'clock  at  night,  some  eight 
or  ten  Federals  came  riding  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Fayette  ville.  Those  placed  at 
the  opening  poured  the  contents  of  their 
guns  into  their  ranks.  Like  rats  in  a 
trap,  they  made  a  run  up  the  road,  run- 
ning full  into  the  wire.  Here  the  con- 
cealed men  poured  another  volley  into 
them.  Horses  and  men  lay  in  one  con- 
fused, bleeding  heap.  The  shrieks  of 
the  dying  and  wounded  were  fearful  to 
hear.  It  was  the  bloodiest  spectacle,  for 
the  few  engaged,  I  ever  saw. 

•'And  down  in  the  vale  where  the  poppies  grew. 
Were  redder  stains  than  the  poppies  knew.'^ 


WAK  sriiil'CHES. 


205 


We  took  the  captured  dispatches  and 
turned  to  Fayetteville  and  turned 
em  over  to  CoL  Brooks.  On  our  arri- 
1  at  Fayetteville,  Gen.  Price,  on  his 
5t  retreat  from  Missouri,  came  in  sight, 
stead  of  attacking,  as  we  expected,  he 
issed  by  and  continued  his  southern 
arch.  We  joined  him  and  went  as  far 
Cove  creek,  where  Capt.  Crouch's 
mmand  stopped. 

I  concluded  to  join  Capt.  Wright  and 
irried  over  for  that  purpose,  but  found 
s  command  had  gone  south.  This  left 
e  alone,  so  I  concluded  to  shape  my 
jstiny  for  Texas.  I  set  out  in  that  di- 
ction and  fell  in  with  Capt.  Mose  Ed- 
ards'  company,  composed  of  Indians 
id  whites,  and  a  tough  crowd  withal. 
Arriving  at  a  point  some  distance 
om  Jenny  Lind,  I  decided  to  abandon 
y  companions  and  endeavor  to  reach 
Bxas  alone. 

With  the  company  was  Henry  Hood, 
Cherokee,  and  his  wife.  When  I  an- 
:)unced  my  intention  of  leaving  them 
le  declared  she  was  going  with  "Capt. 
lack,''  and  called  on  all  who  wanted  to 
'>llow  Capt.  Black,  to  fall  in  line  with 


206  WAR  SKETCHES. 

her.    More  than  half  the  company  n 
sponded. 

Not  wanting  to  be  bothered  by  this  d< 
tatchment  of  men,  I  decided  not  to  goto" 
Texas.  However,  the  notion  came^upon 
me  again  to  go,  so  ^Haking  the  house'' 
on  the  company,  I  started  my  horse  in 
the  direction  of  the  lone  star  state, riding 
all  night.  Along  toward  morning  I  was 
halted  by  some  pickets,  which  proved  to 
be  the  outposts  of  my  brother-in-law's 
company.  I  remained  with  them  three 
or  four  days  and  finally  reached  Texas, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Ladonia,  safely. 

This  practically  ends  the  war  with  me. 
For  some  time  after  this  I  was  s  omewhat 
of  a  nomadic  person,  but  the  deafening 
din  of  war  having  given  away  to  the 
plowman's  song,  and  ravage  and  devas- 
tation to  peace  and  prosperity.  When 
the  noble  son  of  the  South  returned  to 
his  wasted  home,  with  nothing,  perhaps, 
but  a  blackened  chimney  standing  as  a 
grim  sentinel,  where  once  stood  a  cosy 
cottage  or  stately  mansion;  and  with 
nothing  but  the  brawn  of  muscle  and  the 
love  of  native  land,  endeavored  to  build 
upon  the  blackened  ruins  a  habitation 


WAR  Slr^lCHES. 


207 


for  himself  and  family,  and  to  retrieve 
the  fortunes  the  war  had  so  ruthlessly 
swept  away,  I,  too,  returned  to  peace- 
ful pursuits,  free  from  the  corroding 
care  of  war  and  the  excitement  incident 
thereto. 

Bright  winged  peace,  with  her  benev- 
olent smile,  has  long  hovered  over  our 
land,  and  I  have  since  lived  in  the  en- 
joyment of  peace  and  prosperity.  My 
only  hope  is  that  the  tocsin  of  W(ar,  with 
all  its  harrowing  concomitants,  may  nev- 
er sound  in  this  fair  land  again,  and  that 
the  scenes  through  which  I  have  passed 
may  nevermore  be  witnessed  by  mankind. 


THE  END. 


W.  p.  Black,— 1894, 


Not  far  ahead  we  all  shall  camp^ 
Beyond  lifers  battle  lines,  [front, 
'  With  comrade  true  who  marched  in 
And  rest  beneath  the  pines. 

The  reveille,  the  call  to  arms, 
For  us  no  more  shall  sound, 

Nor  thundering  arms  disturb  our  sleep^ 
Who  bivouac  under  ground. 

Let  silent  stars  stand  sentinel. 

No  foe  invades  our  grave, 
The  Captain  of  salvation  comes 

To  furlough  home  the  brave. 


W.  J.  WATTS. 

President  of  the  Cherokee  Indiari 
Citizenship  Association. 

W,  J.  Watts  was  born  in  the  year  1840 
His  father  was  Malichi  Watts,  who  was 
of  Cherokee  descent,  and  his  mother  Su- 
san Toler,  a  white  woman.  When  13 
years  of  age  he  moved  with  his  parents 
to  Arkansas,  near  Clarksville,  where  he 
worked  on  the  farm  until  the  breaking 


/ 


210 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


out  of  the  war,  when  he  volunteered  m 
Co.  C,  First  Arkansas  Mounted  Rifles. 

He  was  in  the  battles  of  Oak  Hill  and 
Pea  Ridge,  after  which  he  was  transfer- 
red east  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and  was 
in  the  battle  ^of  Corinth,  shortly  after 
which  he  was  transferred  to  Knoxville, 
and  served  under  (jren.  Kirby  Smith  in 
his  raid  into  Kentucky,  which  was  al- 
most a  continuous  battle,  the  chief  en- 
gagement being  at  Richmond,  where  the 
Federals  with  superior  numbers  attempt- 
ed to  capture  the  command  and  the  Con- 
federates gained  a  complete  victory. 

In  November  1862  he  was  transferred 
to  the  army  of  Tennessee,  and  sent  to 
relieve  Yicksburg.  His  command  was  or- 
dered to  MufFersboro,  where  he  engaged 
i  ::iat  celebrated  battle.  His  next  gen- 
eral engagement  was  at  the  bloody  battle 
of  Chickamauga. 

In  the  spring  of  1864  he  was  transfer- 
red to  Mobile  and  from  thence  to  Flori- 
da. About  this  time  he  was  dismissed 
on  furlough,  but  instead  of  going  home 
he  joined  Gen.  Price's  command,  and 
was  all  through  the  great  raid  which  re- 
sulted in  driving  the  Federal  forces  out 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


211 


of  Arkansas.  In  Oct.  1864  Capt.  James 
Earwood  organized  a  company  at  Clarks- 
ville,  Ark.,  and  Mr.  Watts  was  elected 
as  First  Lieutenant.  A  few  days  later 
the  command  was  fired  upon  from  am- 
bush, instantly  killing  Capt.  Earwood 
and  Lieut.  Davis.  Mr.  Watts  command- 
ed his  company  to  charge  the  enemy, 
which  they  did  and  put  them  to  flight. 

On  the  6th  of  February  1865  while  at 
dinner  in  a  house  near  Clarksville,  Ark., 
with  three  of  his  comrades,  they  were 
surrounded  by  about  six  times  their 
number  of  Federals,  who  ordered  him  to 
surrender.  But  by  a  well  laid  plan  all 
escaped  capture  and  wounds  except  Mr. 
Watts,  who  was  seriously  wounded. 

This  wound  laid  him  up  for  about  3 
months.  Then  his  comrades  took  him 
to  the  south  side  of  the  river,  where  he 
with  %hree  of  his  comrades  resolved  to  go 
to  South  Arkansas. 

In  Scott  county  a  Federal  scout  com- 
manded by  Captv  Wash  Dixon  heard  of 
them  and  determined  to  capture  or  kill 
them.  Secreting  themselves  by  the  road 
side;  when  ]VIr.  Watts  and  his  three  com- 
rades approached,  Dixon  ordered  him  to 


212 


WAK  SKETCHES, 


surrender,  Each  party  being  ready  to 
fire,  Mr.  W.  called  to  Mr.  Dixon  and  told 
him  he  would  prefer  death  rather  than 
surrender^  and  asked  Mr.  Dixon  to  ride 
out  in  front  and  meet  him,  which  he  did 
and  seeing  the  determination  of  Mr.  W. 
and  his  men,  that  they  were  well  armed 
and  that  to  fire  on  them  would  only  tend 
to  lose  some  of  his  men;  give  Mr.  Watts 
his  hand  and  pledged  his  word  that  his 
men  would  not  fire.  They  passed,  rais- 
ing their  hats  to  each  other,  and  since 
that  time  have  been  warm  friends. 

He  returned  home  in  December  1865, 
laid  down  his  arms  and  l^ecame  once 
more  a  peaceable  citizen. 

In  1866  he  was  married  to  Miss  Kittie 
Blackard,  among  the  handsomest  and 
most  estimable  ladies  of  ClarksviUe^  Ai'k- 
where  he  resided  until  1871,  when  he  re- 
moved to  the  Cherokee  Nation,  arid  set- 
tled on  the  Arkansas  rivar,  where  he 
opened  up  a  large  farm. 

In  1877  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile 
business  at  Cottonwood,  where  he  re- 
mained until  1888,  when  he  removed  to 
the  site  now  occupied  by  the  town  of 
Muldrow,  he  having  the  honor  of  naming 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


213 


the  place,  which  he  did  after  Col.  H.  L. 
Muldrow,  ex-congressman  from  Miss. 

While  not  a  regular  attorney  Mr.  Watts 
is  well  versed  in  law,  while  on  questions 
relating  to  Indian  treaties,  there  are  none 
better  versed.  He  has  much  irregular 
practice  in  law,  people  of  all  classes  com- 
ing to  him  for  advice,  which  is  given  to 
all  unable  to  pay  gratuitously. 

Since  1874  he  has  been  in  al  nost  con- 
stant litigation  with  the  Cher  >kee  au- 
thorities over  the  question  of  citizenship 
v^^hich  lias  attracted  much  attention,  not 
only  in  this  Territory  but  at  Washington 
where  lie  has  defended  his  case  before 
the  Interior  Department,  where  his 
rights  as  a  Cherokee  citizen  has  been  rec- 
ognized, together  with  the  Watts  family. 

The  litigation  growing  out  of  the  citi- 
2:enship  question  resulted  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Cherokee  Citizenship  Associa- 
tion, of  which  Mr.  Watts  is  the  leading 
spirit. 

As  a  man  and  citizen  Mr.  Watts  stands 
liigh  with  all  classes.  He  is  among  the 
leading  spirits  in  all  matters  of  public 
enterprise — schools,  churches  and  public 
improvements.    ''Uncle  Jeff/'  as  he  is 


SKETCHES. 


commonly  called  by  people  of  all  ages, 
is  a  leading  member  of  the  Methodist 
church,  and  is  respected  as  a  Christian 
by  all  classes,  his  religion  being  of  the 
practical  and  not  the  Pharaseical  sort. 

He  is  a  Mason  and  Odd  Fellow,  high 
in  the  degrees  and  commands  the  esteem 
and  respect  of  his  brethren.  The  Mod- 
ded  partner  of  his  youth— a  liandsome 
and  estimable  lady— still  sluires  his  joys 
and  sorrows,  being  the  mother  of  seven 
children,  four  livina;,  Jesse,  Charles, 
Noah  and  Faiinie,  tlie  former  beini^'  mar- 
rip-!  and  ihe  hitter  five  years  oki. 

It  is  said  by  those  who  know  liiin  best 
that  he  is  seldom  out  of  humor.  He  is 
permanently  located  at  Muldrow,  I.  T., 
where  he  has  erected  a  handsome  resi- 
dence. His  time  is  entirely  devoted  to 
his  office,  which  is  daily  crowded  by 
those  seeking  information. 

j\lr.  Watts  Avas  one  of  the  first  men  of 
this  Territor}^  to  advocate  the  allotment 
of  lands  in  severalty,  and  has  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  advised  the  Cherokee  peo- 
ple to  prepare  for  American  citizenship, 
which  was  surely  coming.  For  this  he 
was  severel}^  censured,  but  he  spoke  his 


215 


honest  sentiments  regardless  of  fear  or 
favor,  and  today  he  is  recognized  as  one 
of  the  leading  advocates  of  the  cliange 
from  Territorial  to  State  government. 

Being  associated  in  business  with  Mr. 
VV'atts  for  about  four  years,  we  know  the 
man  pretty  well,  and  have  ever  found 
him  honest,  kind,  courteous  and  oblig- 
ing, every  day  alike,  and  what  we  have 
herein  v  ritten  in  his  praise  is  bnt  a  par- 
tial tribute  to  the  man,  as  those  who 
know  him  best  can  testify. 


216 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


CAPT.  MOSE  EDWARDS, 

A   Half  Breed  Cherokee  Indian 
and  Confederate. 

J  e  was  born  in  Tennessee  about  1833 
and  was  brought  west  by  his  parents  and 
lived  on  Lees  creek  in  the  Cherokee  Na- 
tion, until  the  breaking  out  of  the  late 
civil  w^ar,  when  he  made  up  a  company 
and  wa>s  elected  captain.  He  then  took 
his  company  and  joined  Col.  Adair's 
regiment  in  Gen »  Stanwatie's  brigade  of 
I'lierokee  Confederates* 

In  1862  he  resigned  the  office  of  cap- 
tain and  joined  Capt.  Dick  Fields'  com-" 
pany  as  a  private.    In  the  early  part  of 
1863   he   was  commissioned  to  raise  a 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


217 


company  on  the  Cherokee  line.  He  was 
very  active  and  soon  raised  a  company 
of  Indians  and  whites,  and  was  elected 
as  captain,  in  which  capacity  he  served 
until  the  close  of  the  war. 

During  this  time  he  and  his  company 
did  a  great  deal  of  hard  service.  His 
and  Capt.  Wright^ s  companies  routed 
the  Pin  Indians  at  the  old  Dwight  Mis- 
sion. He  joined  Gen.  Ganoe  and  was 
at  the  Cabin  Creek  fight,  and  took  a  very 
active  part.  He  led  the  advance  in  the 
Gum  Spring  fight,  near  Ft.  Smith,  Ark. 
Here  he  showed  great  bravery,  charging 
into  the  midst  of  the  enemy,  shooting  to 
the  i'ight  and  left,  at  the  same  time  or- 
dering the  Federals  to  surrender,  when 
a  great  many  of  them  threw  down  their 
guns  and  surrendered. 

Since  the  war  the  writer  has  known 
but  little  of  Capt.  Edwards.  I  have 
been  told  that  he  was  killed  near  Log- 
town,  Ark.,  Christmas  eve,  1880. 


218 


WAK  SKETCHES. 


MARY  A,  JOHNSON. 


The  Celebrated  Confederate  Spy 
under  Gen,  Forest. 


"  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bom  in 
:1  county,  Middle  Tennessee;  in 
1826  removed  with  he  r  parents  to  West 
Tennessee.  They  were  among  the  first 
settlers  of  that  section,  therefore  she  was 
raised  amid  the  scenes  of  rural  life.  She 
early  evinced  a  desire  for  an  education 
and  availed  herself  of  every  opportunity 
being  assisted  by  her  father. 

There  were  no  schools  in  the  neigh- 
borhood; no  modern  advantages  or  im- 
provements, no  fine  churches  or  edifices 
of  any  kind,  no  railroads,  no  telegraph 
lines.  Women  had  no  sewing  machines 
or  cooking  stoves. 

Perhaps  some  young  persons  ask  how 
did  people  live  in  those  days.     The  an- 


WAK  SKETCHES. 


219 


swer  comes:  Much  better  than  they  do 
now.  Friendship  was  true  and  abound- 
ing, religion  was  pure  and  practical,  pat- 
riotism was  pure,  all  hands  were  employ- 
ed in  honest  labor  and  we  had  no  train 
robbers  or  tramps.  We  lived  at  home 
and  were  happy.  Old  Hickory  Jackson 
was  our  president,  Davy  Crockett  was 
our  near  neighbor,  and  the  bear  hunt, 
the  deer  dvivd  and  tho  f  jx  chase  consti- 
tuted our  amusement. 

Hei-  fathc]',  Norton  Oakes,  being  a  man 
of  more  than  ordinary  ability,  ^vas  soon 
caUed  on  to  serve  his  fellow  mm,  wlucli 
he  did  in  every  grade  of  office  irom  ca};- 
tain  of  nialitia  to  high  sheriff. 

With  a  large  family  of  children  and  a 
sickly  mother,  her  duties  were  arduous; 
but  she  possessed  a  stout  constitution 
and  strong  bent  of  mind,  pursuing  her 
studies  at  midnight  hours. 

She  kept  posted  in  all  the  measures  of 
congress,  watched  with  interest  the  grow- 
ing measures  of  the  abolition  party,  from 
the  Missouri  compromise  to  John  Brown 
raid,  and  being  convinced  that  all  unity 
between  the  South  and  North  was  at 
an  end,  she  loyally  contended  for  South- 


220 


TAR  SKETCHES. 


em  rights,  and  on  the  election  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  to  the  office  of  President  of 
the  un -United  States,  became  a  strong- 
advocate  for  secession. 

She  was  married  in  Nov.  1845  to  John 
Johnson,  with  whom  she  lived  happily 
until  1858,  when  death  elo3cd  his  career 
and  she  was  left  to  fight  the  battles  of 
life  alone.  She  was  adequate  to  the  task. 
For  a  number  of  years  slie  taught  in  the 
piibhc  schools,  carried  on  her  farm  and 
scliooled  her  children  and  prospered. 

^Vhen  the  war  broke  out  it  found  hei' 
a  widow  witli  six  children,  five  <:nv\s  and 
one  boy  4  years  old.  She  was  engaged 
in  school  at  Liberty  Churcli,  in  Obion 
county,  wlien  the  tirst  call  for  voluntoi^rs 
was  ma^de  and  several  of  lur  scholars  vol- 
unteered, among  them  her  youngost 
bi'other,  Jesse  H.  Oakes,  about  iSyera's 
of  age. 

AH  the  Souther]!  States  had  seceeded. 
except  Kentucky,  which  declared  her- 
self neutral,  and  after  the  occupation  of 
Faducha  by  the  Federals,  the  (x^nfeder- 
ate  forces  took  possession  of  Columbus. 
These  nuovemonts  was  ^non  followed  l)y 
the  battle  of  Belmont.      (  'hcalham  and 


Pillow  soon  evacuated  Columbus  and  fell 
back  south,  leaving  our  borders  exposed 
to  the  ravages  of  the  enemy.  Then  our 
troubles  began.  They  ravaged  and  made 
desolate  many  homes,  taking  prisoner 
our  old  gray  headed  fathers,  forcing  them 
to  wear  chains  with  heavy  balls  attached. 
Some  died  in  this  situation.  To  make 
matters  worse,  there  were  in  our  midst  a 
class  of  people  devoid  of  patriotism  and 
noted  for  dishonesty  and  cowardice, who 
formed  in  detatchments  and  made  raids 
in  our  midst,  stealing  horses  and  robbing 
the  people  under  Federal  protection. 

During  all  this  time  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  actively  engaged  in  equip- 
ping and  helping  Southern  soldiers 
through  the  lines.  Having  an  almost 
perfect  knowledge  of  the  country,  and 
being  full  of  resources,  the  night  was  not 
too  dark  nor  the  snow  too  deep  to  pre- 
vent her  from  piloting  rebel  soldiers  or 
carrying  dispatches,  while  Federals  were 
thick  all  around  her.  She  often  met  up 
with  the  Federal  scouts,  but  they  seemed 
never  to  suspect  her.  On  one  occasion 
she  encountered  a  Wisconsin  regiment, 
composed  of  (jrermans,  Swec^e^,  Italians 


222 


l^AH  SKETCHES. 


and  negroes.  The  Colonel  and  Captains 
were  Americans,  who  called  for  their 
dinner,  and  while  it  was  preparing  and 
the  troops  were  robbing  the  place,  the 
following  conversation  took  place  be- 
tween her  and  Capt.  Skinner: 

''Madame,  have  you  a  husband?'' 

''No  sir/'  "Any  sons?"  "One,  four 
years  old." 

"Madame,  you  area  good  Union  lady 
are  you  not?"  '^No  sir."  "You  cer- 
tainly aint  a  d  d  rebel."     "No  sir, 

but  I  am  a  living  one."  "Don't  you 
know  that  you  are  in  our  power?"  ^'I 
do  not  consider  that  I  am.  You  have 
no  power  over  the  women  of  the  South." 

*'But  you  are  a  rebel."  "Yes,  and 
not  only  a  rebel  but  a  secesh  too." 

Then  he  began  to  vilifv  the  South  and 
became  so  enra2:ed  that  her  mother  was 
scared  and  begged  the  soldiers  not  to  kill 
her.    The  captain  continued: 

"Have  you  any  brothers?"  "Y^es  sir." 
"Where  are  they?"  "In  the  rebel  army 
where  they  should  be."  "Whose  com- 
mand are  they  in?"  "Cheatham's." 

"Well  they  are  our  meat.  Old  Cheat 
is  the  scoundrel  we  are  after,  and  we  are 


WAll  SKETCHES. 


223 


going  to  kill  or  capture  tbe  last  d  d 
one  of  them."  ''Why  sn%  I  have  kin- 
folks  enough  with  Cheatham  to  make  a 
regiment,  and  when  you  meet  them  you 
will  get  the  worst  whipping  that  men 
ever  got."  ''No  indeed,  no  get  whip- 
ped, but  1  expect  to  capture  some  of 
your  people  and  hang  them  as  high  as 
Haman."  "So  did  Haman  expect  to 
hang  Mordecai." 

"Well,  you  can  expect  to  hear  of  them 
all  being  killed."  "Sir,  I  expect  to  hear 
of  you  on  the  retreat,  trying  to  get*  back 
to  Abraham's  bosom.  And  now,  sir,  I 
am  out  of  patience  with  you.  You 
might  talk  till  doomsday,  but  I  would 
still  be  the  same — Kebel  all  over." 

Herg  his  countenance  changed  and  he 
broke  out  in  a  hearty  laugh,  and  giving 
her  the  address  of  his  wife,  requested  her 
to  write  and  tell  her  of  their  wordy  bat- 
tle. He  promised  that  if  any  of  her  rel- 
atives fell  into  his  hands,  he  would  treat 
them  well,  and  rode  away  wishing  her 
good  luck. 

And  pretty  soon  Old  Bedford  Forest 
got  after  them  and  almost  annihilated 
that  regiment. 


22-1  TAR  SKETnirs. 

Tht)  further  south  the  Confederates 
were,  the  worse  times  became.  The  peo- 
ple were  ah*eady  robbed  of  everything, 
and  were  in  a  suffering  condition.  There 
were  only  a  few  old  men  left  in  tlie  land 
and  they  were  not  able  to  work,  so  she 
with  others,  dug  up  tlieir  old  looms  and 
spinning  wheels  and  made  cloth  to  clothe 
their  families.  They  cleared  up  fields 
rolled  h>gs,  tended  crops  and  harvested 
Avith  their  own  hands. 

People  had  no  cofT^e  and  no  sugar  on- 
ly such  as  they  made  from  the  sugar  ma- 
ple. Salt  was  the  great  need,  and  she 
went  to  Hickman,  Ky.,  paid  f  10.00  for 
a  barrel  of  salt,  and  in  great  danger  to 
herself,  brought  it  home. 

Mrs.  Johnson  had  been  stripped  of  her 
supplies  by  the  enemy.  Three  times  had 
they  taken  the  last  horse  and  the  last 
morsel  of  meat  from  her  little  children, 
and  she  exults  today  that  they  never 
suffered  with  hunger.  These  depriva- 
tions were  of  secondary  moment  with 
her.  The  success  of  the  Confederate 
arms  engrossed  her  mind,  and  to  that 
end  she  worked  and  suffered. 

In  the  meantime  Gen.  Forest  sent  a 


WAR  st<:etches. 


225 


company  under  Capt.  John  Thomas,  for 
our  protection,  and  if  possible  to  cap- 
ture the  band  of  thieves  that  raided  our 
settlement.  But  the  country  was  so  ov- 
errun by  the  enemy  that  Thomas'  men 
had  to  secrete  themselves  for  the  most 
part,  and  could  only  make  dashes  out 
and  in. 

At  this  crisis  she  was  commissioned  as 
special  scout  for  Forest's  forces,  and  at 
once  entered  on  her  duties,  scouring  the 
country  in  all  directions.  She  visited 
the  Federal  posts  at  Union  City,  Tenn., 
Columbus  and  Hickman,  Ky.,  narrowly 
observing  their  movements,  numbers 
and  situation,  without  being  suspected. 

Her  greatest  desire  was  to  apprehend 
the  thieving  gang,  but  it  seemed  impos- 
sible to  locate  them  in  time  to  dispatch 
Thomas.  One  evening  she  received  in- 
telligence thnt  Pat  Dickson,  their  chief, 
was  in.  The  weather  was  very  cold  and 
a  deep  snow  was  on  the  ground.  She 
concluded  to  spy  around  a  little,  and  in 
passing  a  house  she  saw  his  horse  hitch- 
ed to  the  gate — a  fine  animal  which  he 
had  taken  a  few  days  before.  She  could 
hear  him  talking  in   the  house  and  she 


226 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


thought  it  too  good  a  chance  to  let  slip. 
She  found  the  horse  nobly  rigged,  with  1 
fine  new  cavalry  saddle  and  bridle,  two 
holsters  and  fine  revolvers,  a  pair  of  sad- 
dle bags  containing  clothing  etc,  and  a 
splendid  overcoat. 

She  hastily  loosed  the  horse  and  es- 
caped with  him,  and  succeeded  in  put- 
ting that  horse  and  equippage  in  the 
hands  of  a  Rebel  soldier  and  sending 
him  to  Forest ^s  command. 

Manv  other  acts  and  occurrences  we 
might  speak  of,  had  we  time  and  oppor- 
tunity. Let  it  suffice  to  add,  however, 
that  she  continued  active  until  the  end 
of  the  war,  suffered  all  the  pain  of  the 
surrender,  but  was  consoled  by  the 
thought  that  the  Confederates  in  surren- 
dering their  arms,  did  not  surrender 
their  principles. 

She  has  many  friends  of  whom  she 
would  love  to  speak,  but  space  forbids. 

She  left  Tennessee  in  1869,  and  locat- 
ed in  Johnson  county,  Arkansas,  and 
thence  to  the  Indian  Territory.  Her 
home  is  at  Muldrow,  1.  T.,  where  she 
has  resided  for  the  last  four  years,  being 
engaged  in  teaching. 


WAR  SKETCHES* 


227 


JAMES  BOYS  NO,  2. 


We  had  two  bright  young  boys  with 
us  during  the  closing  days  of  the  war,  one 
of  whom  is  still  living  and  the  older  one 
has  gone  to  his  eternal  home.  These 
boys  tried  to  keep  out  of  the  army  as  they 
were  the  sole  support  of  their  mother  and 
sisters,  but  as  both  armies  had  raided  the 
country  taking  everything  they  could 
find,  they  feared  that  dear  old  mother 
would  soon  come  to  want. 

Finding  it  impossible  to  remain  at 
home,  they  come  to  our  camps  on  Lees 
creek  and  was  with  us  in  many  a  hot 
skirmish.  They  were  with  the  company 
when  Col.  Bo  wen  was  captured,  in  the 
Lees  creek  battle,  when  we  captured  the 
'  suttlers  train,  the  Cabin  Creek  battle  and 
the  Hay  fight. 

One  of  these  boys,  William,  and  Clark 
Jqhnson  were   the   two  leaders  in  the 


228 


WAR  SKETCHEB, 


Cabin  Creek  fight.  They  were  first  on 
the  breastworks  and  came  near  losing 
their  lives,  bnt  fortunately,  just  as  they 
ascended  the  breastworks  the  Federals 
hoisted  the  white  flag. 

They  were  sometimes  called  bush- 
whackers/' but  they  were  often  the  vic- 
tims of  being  bush- whacked,  as  I 
call  to  mind  a  few  instances  in  wh 
they  were  ambushed.  Once  on  C 
creek  when  they  lost  7  out  of  12  men. 

On  Frog  Bayou,  August  12,  1864, 
they  rode  into  the  Federals  where  they 
were  nursing  Capt.  Bealer  and  others 
who  had  been  mortally  wounded  the 
night  before.  Here  they  had  several 
^  horses  and  7  men  wounded,  but  no  one 
killed.  On  the  morning  of  Aug.  11,  '64, 
while  one  of  these  boys  was  going  to  the 
house  of  Mrs.  Couch,  in  company  with 
Capt.  Whitson  and  two  of  the  Fine  boys, 
in  search  of  something  to  eat,  they  were 
fired  on  by  about  100  Federals,  killing  3 
of  their  horses  and  inflicting  wounds  on 
each  of  the  four  men,  but  none  of  them 
proved  fatal  as  they  were  well  attended 
to,  and  lived  on  one  meal  every  2  or  3 
days.    I  have  often  thought  that  the  ex- 


WAK  SKETCHES. 


229 


treme  light  diet  we  were  accustomed  to 
saved  the  life  of  many  a  poor  soldier. 

Andy  Frazier,  a  schoolmate  of  William 
James,  who  had  fallen  in  the  ranks  of 
Gen.  Hindman,  and  Jim  King,  always 
worshipped  the  mother  of  the  Jameses. 
And  right  here  1  want  to  say  a  few 
words  about  this  noble  lady.  Her  hus- 
band, who  by  the  way,  was  first  cousin 
to  the  Rev.  Robert  James,  father  of  the 
noted  James  Boys  of  Missouri,  and  to- 
gether these  two  Robert  Jameses  jour- 
neyed to  California  in  '49,  in  quest  of 
gold.  They  were  lost  on  Feather  river 
in  California  and  never  returned. 

So  this  mother  was  left  in  Crawford 
county,  Ark.,  with  5  little  children  to 
raise,  unaided  and  alone,  save  the  assist- 
ance rendered  by  John  M.  James,  who 
went  to  California  in  1853. 

She  scuffled  and  worked  and  prayed, 
worrying  over  her  lost  husband  for  seven 
years,  when  she  married  a  second  hus- 
band, and  he  was  taken  away  by  the 
hand  of  an  assassin,  in  mistake  for  an- 
other man.  However,  the  mistake  made 
her  a  widow  and  left  her  with  orphans. 

It  makes   the   tears  come  to  my  old 


230 


'vVAR  SKETCHES. 


eyes  to  look  into  the  bitter  cup  of  this 
good  woman,  who  has  long  since  gone  to 
heaven.  And  the  question  here  arises: 
^^Is  life  worth  the  living?'^ 

While  in  camp  Dillard  James  invited 
Frazier  and  King  to  accompany  him  to 
see  his  mother.  So  they  ventured  near 
his  mother's  house^  but  feared  to  go  in, 
as  the  old  step-father  was  ill  and  being 
waited  on  by  the  neighbors,  and  the 
house  was  watched  by  the  enenw.  So 
deciding  to  wait  for  daylight,  they  turn- 
ed their  horses  in  a  field,  spread  their 
blankets  and  lay  down  for  a  few  hours 
rest.  At  daybreak  they  arose  and  went 
for  their  horses.  Dillard's  horse  being 
hobbled,  he  was  soon  mounted  and 
plril(  (!  to  help  catch  one  of  the  other 
liorecs.  Ai  tlris  moment  he  discovered 
tliat  they  were  surrounded  by  a  company 
of  Federals.  He  stood  a  moment  watch- 
ing King  and  the  enemy  swap  bullets, 
aiiJ  >ocing  that  he  had  but  one  cliance 
f.)r  ]iis]i?o,  ho  put  spurs  to  the  fine  ani- 
mal vvhicli  hehiad  captured  from  tlie Fed- 
erals, 1cn}ed  an  8. ra  il  fence  and  made 
rlirht  tiiroii2:h  the  lines,  men  shootinG;  at 
him  oveiyjump.     3h'^i  gun,  ^Vinclioster 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


231 


and  six-shooter  balls  whistled  uiicoai- 
fortably  close  as  he  ran,  occasionally 
playing  pack  at  them  with  his  six-shoot- 
er, to  check  their  mad  career. 

They  swent  pell  mell  for  half  a  mile 
when  they  encountered  a  steep  precipice 
about  100  yards  from  top  to  bottom,  and 
at  an  angle  of  at  least  45  degrees.  He 
descended,  could  neither  turn  to  the 
right  nor  the  left  as  he  was  hemmed  in, 
so  down  he  went,  sliding  and  slipping, 
the  enemy  standing  on  top,  pouring  hot 
shot  at  him.  He  soon  reached  the  little 
creek  at  the  bottom,  which  was  about  20 
feet  wide  and  very  deep.  Now  came  the 
tug  of  war.  It  was  death  to  stop  and 
dangerous  to  leap,  but  there  was  no  time 
to  be  lost,  and  his  Avas  one  of  the  best 
and  most  willing  horses  in  the  land,  so 
he  drew  up  the  reins  and  the  noble  ani- 
mal sprang  over  the  w^ater,  reaching  the 
opposite  side  in  safety. 

Once  down  the  mountain  and  over  the 
stream,  Dillard  was  almost  out  of  reach 
of  the  enemy,  but  they  hastily  made  for 
a  gap  in  the  mountain  and  followed  him 
getting  an  occasional  shot.  After  about 
a  mile  tliey  gave  up  the  chase. 


232 


WAR  SKETCHES. 


Those  left  behind  had  succeeded  in 
killing  King,  while  poor  Frazier,  a  lame 
man,  having  nothing  to  fight  with,  had 
surrendered.  The  shooting  was  heard 
by  the  mother  and  sisters,  who,  accom- 
panied by  two  other  ladies,  ran  to  the  i 
scene  and  plead  for  mercy,  but  with  no  j 
avail.  They  poked  their  pistols  in  his 
race  and  fired, — and  there  was  another 
widow  and  two  orphans. 

The  most  remarkable  feature  of  this 
little,  but  bloodthirsty  battle;  was  the 
fact  that  more  than  a  year  after  the  close 
of  the  war,  the  hoofprints  that  horse 
made  in  the  mountain  side,  was  plain 
and  visible  to  the  eye. 


